A Shadow of the Past
by Naughtbeast
Summary: A botched teleport spell from a Lich sends seven adventurers back to a land they wish they could leave behind them... but something is different. It is definitely not the same world they had left, but what does this mean for the adventurers and what will happen when they meet a very old foe? [On Hiatus until further notice]
1. A blast to the past

**Ok... so here is how the story goes down...**

 **Me and my friends play D &D and we have lvl20 characters that we all think are pretty badass and thanks to our nerdy minds we were like 'what would happen if they went to the RWBY universe...' and so this is just something that we thought up and they want me to post it on my fanfic account... so after weeks of nagging I finally uploaded it...**

 **I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY YOU UNGRATEFUL ASSES!**

 **I won't be updating this as much as I want to because I find D &D F***ING EPIC! but I have two other stories which I'm writing and I'll be updating this whenever my friends nagging pisses me off enough so that I actually write another chapter...**

 **SO ENJOY!**

 **Naughtbeast**

Chapter 1:

A single lamp… that was all that was illuminating the endless abyss that was sent before the adventurers which we now follow. Their footsteps echoed against the cold stone of the cavern they were traversing, falling off into the blackness that surrounded them. Despite the fact that the light barely illuminated 20 feet in front of them, they never lost their way. Such was how it had been going for nearly a day as they were heading to their final destination… the lair of the Lich, Dumarion.

Lich's were foul creatures that used their immortality to plot against all those they see fit to plot against and sought to continue their ever-expanding knowledge of magic. This specific Lich had been causing troubles for the town that lived above ground for quite some time now, killing villagers every once in a while, summoning monsters, siphoning their life forces… you know, the usual stuff.

The party that was sent out to destroy him was a roving band of adventurers, people that just happened to be passing by and accepted the money to rid the problem… but it wasn't the money that they were here for. These adventurers were not your every run-of-the-mill soldiers… they were demi-gods. Who were once mortals had ascended to power levels beyond anything that normal people could ever dream of… all because of one tiny quest.

What had started off as a simple king's errand had quickly escalated to something far beyond something that even the great god Tur, the strongest of the divines, could fight. The entity known only as the 'Great One', a being intent on bringing everything in existence under its iron grip, had slowly risen in power over many thousands of years and they just happened to be around when its final plan of action came into place. They fought in vein to destroy its mortal echo's but not even a god could have destroyed all of them.

It was almost a year since they had taken on their endeavor to stop the disciples of the Great One and they had received a simple vision by the gods… there was no stopping it. There was no possible, conceivable way to kill the Great One. The gods had devised a plan to run and leave all behind who couldn't make it, to forge a new multiverse away from the Great One's scheming, saving everyone from the tyranny that the Great One would bring.

They forged the ship dubbed 'The Arc' to herald all of creation, no matter if good or bad, save the Great One itself, straight into an exact replica of this multiverse, slowly linking souls to the vessel so that when it was transported nothing will have seemed to change. The people would be none-the-wiser as to what was happening and everything would be alright… as was the plan… but nothing ever goes to plan when Gods are involved.

The Great One released all of its power possible to try and stop the Gods from heralding what it thought to be its people away from it, killing weaker gods and maiming those that could stand up to its power… although it didn't pay any heed to a band of four adventurers who stood defiant on the decks of the great ship to battle its forces to the bitter end. The adventurers were battered, worn, bloodied and beaten but they never stopped fighting.

The gods had to expend all their power to try and halt the Great One's advance, but like everything else it was in vein. When the Great One came in to make the final kill and stop the ship from breaking through the gates to the new multiverse, it was not the divine act of a god or goddess that had brought it reeling… but the act of the four mortals. They had shifted themselves onto the same plane where the battle was being fought and had struck it when it was at its strongest, the mere distraction they wrought was enough for the ship to break through and lead them to safety, sealing the gate shut and purging all that remained of the entity's rule.

They were hailed as heroes of all creation and gifted rewards worthy of such a feat, bringing them into the folds of the divine. Three of the dying gods gave the small amount of power they had left to the adventurers and one of them became champion of a major god and they would not put this power to waste. They traveled through the new lands to snuff out all that sought to destroy it, breaking any and all of evil's hold on the daily goings on in the Material plane. And that leads me to the reason that the adventurers were now tracking down this Lich. It was possibly the last living memory of the Great One, everything else being destroyed and re-written in the history books.

It sought to re-establish the link to the past realm and bring back the Great One into the new one… but they weren't about to let that happen. Although the original four adventurers were a power to be reckoned with, they had picked up a few companions along the way. Three more adventurers stood by their side, adding to the potency with two of them being demi-gods in their own right… and the third was a ten-year-old.

They had fought through the dungeon leading to the Lich's lair for almost a straight day now, battling everything from zombies to corrupted villagers, all being dust under the feet of such legends. Then they had found their way to the darker parts of the lair and encountered creatures that really deserved their attention, Death Knights fighting for the Great One and even a Demilich that tried to stop them, the adventurers having to pull out most of their high-level spells to combat the beings own.

The footsteps came to a halt in the confined cavern as an unspoken command went through the silence when their quarry was spotted, a dark purple light coming from the tunnel up ahead. The trademark sound of metal-on-metal was heard as weapons were drawn and the footsteps resumed towards the source, the air becoming denser the closer they became.

They breached the threshold of the door and were greeted by the maniacal laughing of the Lich as a swirling, dark portal was coming into existence behind it.

"You are too late mortals… the spell has been completed and my master will come to take what is rightfully hers!" the Lich mocked, its laughing never ceased as its hands wrapped and flowed around in the air to continue summoning the portal. The group stood just out of the light so that the Lich could only see their outlines.

The adventurers looked between each other before the lead figure stepped forward into the light, holding nothing at all and garbed in a pure white cloak that covered his face with a hood, tiny wisps of blood red on the bottom of it to make it look as though it was dipped in blood, the faint sound of metal clashing echoing in the room as he moved. The figure was nearly 7-foot-tall and easily towered over the Lich, casting an aura of authority and power over the room.

"You are mistaken foul beast…" began the deep and gruff voice of the figure, muffled by a mouthguard and layer of fabric. "you believe us to be powerless against your magic, but you cannot be more wrong… we were there to defeat your master in the first place so I doubt we'll have any trouble defeating the likes of their petty minions…"

Its voice changed to that of fear and the movements made by its arms quickened to a blindingly fast pace.

"It cannot be! You were never supposed to be here! How did you find me!" it ordered, casting quick glances to the rest of the companions. This time, another stepped forward in front of the first, the voice being smooth and snaky with an almost unnoticed lisp.

"We've always known you were here; it was just a matter of revenge that we waited to stop you when you were oh-so-close!"

It cried out in a shout of pained gibberish, never ceasing its ambitions to open the portal all the while, its focus shifting to the smallest figure as he heard a small cry of fear. The Lich smiled when it saw the weak prey and didn't bother hiding it.

"Your minds are still plagued with idiocy of mortals! You bring a child to face me! I will make you pay for such mockery!" it spoke, breaking its summoning to cast _Power Word Kill_ and sending it straight at the small girl. She squealed in surprise and the others made no move to protect her… although when the blast hit her, it simply dissipated over an unseen barrier, a _Death Ward_ cast on the girl by the adventurers. She ran back and hid behind another of the adventurers and quivered while the first one to step forward laughed in mockery.

"You just assaulted my daughter… I'm going to kill you now" he announced, taking powerful steps forward towards the Lich. It tried to set up and semblance of an attack, launching anything it could at the advancing figure but everything it did seemed to have little-to-no effect on the advancing figure.

The figure strode right up to it and the room was bathed in a bright white light for about three seconds before it came down to the same dark lighting as before except the Lich lay on the ground in two halves, a clean cut running straight through the middle of its body indicating the cause of its death. The figure huffed as he smashed the box that hung around its neck, turning to another member of the party after the Lich's soul left the Material Plane.

"Morkai, if you would I believe we need a portal closed"

One of the other members stepped forward and held out two hands, both only having three fingers to use covered in a dark purple skin that was almost black. The rest of his body was shrouded in a dark robe that flowed down to the floor, shifting and flowing in a non-existent wind. The figure uttered words in a language unspoken by anyone else in the party, hands coated in a shifting red mist as they spoke. For a minute this continued until it abruptly stopped and a raspy and light voice addressed the first figure.

"I regret to say this but I do not know how to close the rupture" Morkai spoke hesitantly.

"Are you sure?" the cloaked figure spoke, looking around for anything that could link to the portal staying open.

"I just bet he's not even trying!" spoke up the other female of the group, stepping out and laughing a bit "Damn wizards can't be trusted!" She was a cleric herself, dedicated to the holy storm god Talos and had born a deep hatred for almost all wizards, although the comment was more jovial than an actual retort. Blue-tinged platemail adorned her body and bright blue hair came down to below her shoulders, two pointed ears sticking through the very tops showing her Elvish heritage.

"Nora, you will hold your tongue!" warned the cloaked figure, walking over to a small wooden table and taking a book off a stand. "Morkai, can you read this?" he asked, throwing the book to the man who caught it nimbly. The wizard read it over before handing it back.

"It is filled with the religious spiel of this dead corpse and how it believes it is right in its stupid actions… it will be of little use"

"So there is no way to break the gateway?" the figure asked to confirm the fact, looking deeply into the dark portal, its swirling mists entrancing his sight.

"Apart from finding out what ritual the creature was using then there is no way… and before you ask, there is nothing in the thing's journal that hints at what it was"

"Understood… now the only thing is to ensure that no one else finds their way here and gets sucked into that accursed realm. Adrik, ready the explosives and place them so that the ceiling collapses after we leave"

"Aye Sar!" came a loud and boisterous voice from the shortest member of the group… no it wasn't the girl… it was a dwarf. He strode forward wearing nothing but a wrapping around his waist to cover his lower extremities and two fur boots. Usually this would have revealed his barrel chest that was riddled with scars and cuts, although it was blocked by a very thick beard with gold beads throughout. A massive warhammer was strapped to the back of the dwarf that glinted a bright gold in even the smallest of lighting. The head of the hammer was easily twice the size of the dwarf's own head and he had appropriately named it _Bone Smasher_.

The dwarf set about pulling several kegs of gunpowder straight out of a portable hole, stringing the barrels out along the rooms walls and spotting each structural weakness for maximum effect. The other adventurers began conversing in hushed tones as the original cloaked figure oversaw the setting of the explosives. The wizard and cleric continued to observe the portal, reluctantly working together to try and discern what was happening, although it only lasted for a few seconds as the portal began emitting a deep warped sound.

"Ummm Holg… you might want to check this out!" warned the last member of the party as he addressed the first figure who turned to face the man. This last figure was by far the most normal in the group, standing at 5'10" with a dark black cloak that kept him hidden in the shadows of the dark and was barely noticeable when he moved, not making a single noise and moving with a speed unparalleled by any of the other members. He was their rogue and the undertaker for their more 'unsavoury' businesses like tracking through a city's underworld or stealing from a minor deity without anyone noticing, using his con as a 'normal human' to sneak past anything.

The other party members immediately snapped up and began heading for the exit, Holg scooping up the girl as he went. She was small for her age, barely able to reach up to Holg's hips and her body was on the thin side. She wore hide armour with auburn hair that went down to her ankles despite being in a thick braid. The only noticeable weapons were a small knife sheathed at her side and a large tome that was hanging off her waist on a silver chain.

They had barely made it a few hundred feet before the light at the end of the tunnel emanating from the portal began slowly coming after them, accelerating with each passing moment.

"MORKAI! TELEPORT SPELL NOW!" commanded Holg as the wave of energy neared, taking a cautious glance over his shoulder and speeding up when he saw it was hot on their heels. It had barely been a moment since Morkai began speaking to cast the spell when the wave caught up to them… and all traces of their existence were gone… well those in that existence anyway.

 **[One Day later…]**

Holg slowly woke from his unconsciousness and pulled himself into a sitting position. His mind was still clouded with the botched teleport spell and it took a while for him to gain his bearings, seeing the subtle ending rays of dusk coming over the horizon. Before he could do anything he heard a faint whispering in the back of his mind.

' _Here you lay weakly stumbling from a mere spell… I wonder sometimes how you are worthy to wield me'_ Came a voice from within his mind, the voice of his weapon _Mercy._

Holg shrugged it off and stood up, taking in his surroundings. He appeared to be in a forest of some sort, not like any he had been in before, yet it somehow seemed familiar. The others were lying around in various states of disarray and he could see Genevive, his daughter, lying asleep on the soft grass with her chest slowly rising and falling.

He pulled himself up and ruffled his cloak to get it looking as good as new while shaking off grass, re-setting the rest of his gear back to normal. He spotted a small puddle of water a few feet away and shuffled over, pulling down his hood and taking off his helm to look at his face. A 25-year-old Half-orc stared back at him, face ridden with scars but otherwise looked quite hansom if you ignored the inch-long tusks coming from his bottom lips and his green complexion. Despite only being 25, he looked at least 35 thanks to the speed of half-orc ageing although he was not that annoyed by it. The most noticeable features were two massive scars that ran across both of his eyes, his left eye being clouded over showing his blindness in that eye. Long, black hair was draped over his back in dreadlocks, gold pieces keeping it in place.

He felt nostalgic for a while, having to look at the same young face year after year… such was the woe of the immortal. He gazed at the holy symbol that was hanging on a necklace around his neck, that of the God of War, Kord.

Long ago he had pledged his allegiance to the god and fought until his guidance as a Paladin, smiting any enemies that the god had declared heretical. The rays of sun gleamed over the symbol and Holg felt a strange warmth flow through his body, the sign that his god was saying he was still here with him… wherever here was. The sound of an angry dwarf broke him from his thoughts, placing his helm back on his head and pulling up his hood.

"I see you are awake Adrik" Holg commented, standing and looking over to the dwarf.

"Aye… ya betta have a damn good way ta send us back pig!" answered Adrik as he lifted himself up off the ground and cracked his knuckles, hefting his warhammer into his hands and doing a few practice swings. Despite the mocking of his heritage, Holg ignored the words as he knew Adrik was harboring no hate and he was the only person he let call him by that name, something his other companions painfully found out about when they tried it.

"We shall return at the closest convenience but I believe we should first at least explore these new lands"

The dwarf shrugged and toddled off somewhere, grumbling multiple curses in Dwarvish at the Lich. Holg went over and began cradling Genevive, pouring some of his holy light into her form to give her good dreams while she slept. Next to wake up was the team's cleric, Nora, who sneezed a lightning bolt the second she woke up, hitting a nearby tree and nearly setting it on fire.

"Ooops…" she muttered before standing up and brushing off her platemail armour, sparks flying whenever the metal on her gauntlets and breastplate connected, hinting at the true nature of the armour. It was her main defensive artefact, the _Living Lightning_ set that allowed her to practically be immune to harmful lightning and also power up her spells. It was a truly terrifying sight when she went full-boar with it as it practically turned her into lightning. She straightened out her hair and then noticed Holg looking her way, throwing a smile before addressing him.

"Oi, old man, where are we? Wouldn't happen to know would you?"

"Unfortunately I do not know our current location but I am sure that once Zwelious or Morkai awake they will be able to shed light on the subject" answered the Half-orc, nodding off into the tree's "Adrik has made a more direct effort to scout our location so if you wish to join him you may soon find him"

She nodded, stood up, then sprinted off after the dwarf… not something that produced anything major since the dwarf wasn't exactly fast. As Holg watched, he saw Frath's nose crinkle before he woke up suddenly and looked around like a startled rabbit. When he saw he wasn't in the cave anymore he looked more annoyed than surprised and addressed Holg, even though the Paladin was sure he hadn't even looked at him.

"I still wonder why the hell I'm following you guys around when we keep getting sent to completely random places no matter where we go" spoke the theif, standing up and leaning up against a tree, still not directly addressing Holg.

"The others went scouting up ahead if you wish to join, other than that I have no clue where we have ended up"

"Meh, seeing how much I can steal from you is more fun…" Frath replied, pulling the cowl of his cloak up and over his head, then completely vanishing from existence. One thing that definitely annoyed Holg was when they found a _Cloak of invisibility_ within some old ruins and Frath had immediately taken it upon himself as the team's rogue to take it… which led to some very annoying times. The thief prided himself in his pick-pocketing skills and would often test them on his team-mates much to their chagrin.

Holg ignored the thief and saw that Zwelious had finally awoken, stretching his tail out of its kinks. Zwelious was a copper dragonborn, giving him lightning breath and he was also the team's ranger. He wore scale armour made purely of bark and it was adorned with multiple feathers and pelts, all from mystical animals that he had tracked and killed. Zwelious was their long-range support, shown by the large longbow that was strapped across his shoulder, although the strange thing was he didn't have a quiver with any arrows. Two shortswords were sheathed at his hip, both being made of the teeth of an massive dragon that he had slain, both being far more effective than any mortal-made steel.

Once the dragonborn had finished with preening his tail, he stood up and took in a large breath before punching the air behind him and sending an invisible Frath to the floor in pain.

"I told you to not try and steal anything from me thief, when will you learn?"

"When hell freezes over!" came a short reply out of thin air, then Zwelious turned to address Holg.

"Considering that fact that Morkai is still unconscious and the others have gone scouting, I assume we have no knowledge of where we are?"

"You are correct to assume that" Holg confirmed, watching as he saw Morkai's shoelaces being tied together by what seemed like nothing. Zwelious nodded at Holg and dropped into a meditative posture, motes of glowing green light swirling around his body as he prepared a spell at least give them direction to where they should head.

By now, the sun had dipped below the horizon and the last rays of sunshine were kissing the surrounding forest, draining the area of light with every second. Holg and Zwelious didn't find it that concerning as they could see just as well in the dark as they could at day, as could just about everyone in the group… except for Frath and Gen. The thief pulled off his hood and jumped over to perch on the tree just above Holg, nimbly landing like a cat.

"Yo Holg, throw up a campfire would you!"

The Paladin obliged and laid Genevive on the floor gently, walking around and finding some broken branches until he had enough for a fire. He set the sticks in a small bundle and pulled a small dagger from inside his cloak and using _Elemental Weapon_ to set it on fire then plunged it into the wood and lighting the bundle

He went over and moved Genevive closer to the fire, Frath jumping down from his perch to sit next to it as well. The smoke came out in a steady stream but seemed to magically be sucked straight towards Morkai, or more specifically his nose. The wizard coughed as he fought to keep it out of his lungs then sat up, dispelling the smoke with a wave of his hand.

"Accursed fire, I much prefer my necromancy flame…" he off-handedly commented, levitating off the ground and turning so he was upright. "Our situation could be better although I agree with Frath that it is quite annoying"

"For the last time Morkai, I must urge that you don't mind-read your companions!" Holg warned, Frath angrily throwing a dagger at Morkai… which stopped about a foot away and dropped to the ground. Morkai floated over to the group and stopped next to Zwelious, briefly observing his ritual.

"Do you have any idea where we are?" Frath asked as he retrieved his dagger, slipping it into one of his many unseen pouches.

"I believe we have been warped to a completely useless plane of existence that I haven't yet seen… it is certainly better than being teleported to the Nine Hells I can assure you"

The rest of the group reminisced the time that they had tried to teleport away from an extremely annoying wizard who summoned a Balor… only to be teleported straight to the Nine Hells… and were stuck there for a week. After a moment, they were interrupted by a small flash of light as Zwelious finished his spell, his eyes glowing a bright green for a second.

"There is a town 3 miles east from here, home to civilised creatures, although we might have to be quick because I sense darkness gathering around the town"

As if to emphasize the face even more, Nora and Adrik came crashing through the trees with ragged breathing.

"There's a town under attack over there, multiple fires and I'm pretty sure whatever is attacking isn't normal"

Holg stood from the fire and pulled an axe and shield from underneath his cloak, both shining a glowing silver in the fire-light. The diving symbol of Kord was emblazoned on the front of the shield, a testament to who he aligned to, whilst the silver axe had glowing golden runes etched along its head.

"We move now, Zwelious you will fire on any beast that shows hostilities and watch Gen, everyone else sticks to crowd control, we want civilians alive here so NO lightning…"

Nora groaned but agreed anyway, reaching out with her hand and pulling a massive greatsword out of thin-air, the blade being taller than her entire body and the blade nearly as wide, although it didn't look like it even weighed a pound to the woman. Morkai took the liberty of mind-reading Adrik to gain a general idea of what the town looked like, then cast a spell to teleport them, bar Zwelious, succeeding in getting to the city limits.

The adventurers sprang into action almost immediately, setting their eyes upon their quarries, dark beast-like shapes shifting through the flickering light of buildings that were somehow on fire. Holg immediately sprinted straight for the town's square where he could hear resistance from what would probably be the residents, slicing down anything that dared move anywhere near him with a backhanded swipe of his axe.

The others were a bit slower to collect themselves and took the opportunity to take a look at their foe. They looked like werewolves at first until their other features were revealed. For one, werewolves didn't have armour plating and spikes and they certainly didn't all have glowing red eyes. The adventurers barely had enough time as the first launched an attack at Nora, slashing her across the chest… or would have if her armour didn't send an arc of lighting straight at the beast and vaporised it before it could do any damage.

"Damn I love this armour!" she commented, swinging her sword and yelling a battle-cry as she charged off into the night. Adrik was soon to follow, sending a werewolf-thing flying with each hammer swing. Frath followed, pulling his cloak over his head to turn him invisible and drawing two long, curved knives and sprinting off into the night, beasts dropping as their spines and necks were severed by a seemingly non-existent foe.

Morkai was the last to move, slowly floating down the abandoned streets without haste, casting off glances at the enemy he knew was watching. They tried to follow him down the street without being seen but he didn't even need to bother killing them… the arrows that were lodged straight through their eye sockets took care of that.

Holg had now made it to the centre of the town where he saw a ring of men holding pikes and swords protecting what seemed like about a hundred women and children. He felt pity for them as the beast's prowled around the circle, being prodded back by the reach of the pole-arms and striking at any small gap they could see and slashing at the protectors. With each push a defender would take a hit but the offending beast would be cut down... slowly but surely they would be weakened until the enemy could strike the killing blow.

Holg cast a _Haste_ spell on himself and felt the false energy flow through his body, utilising the power to sprint full-boar at the creatures and slay ten of them before they even noticed someone was in their mists. They turned to face him and try to fight… only to be met with cold steel ripping through their gullet and helping to paint the cobbled roads red.

The villagers watched as this single person moved with an unrivalled speed and cut through the beasts like butter. A new sensation of energy surged through them and instead of keeping on the defensive they broke formation to seek out the source of their problems and ram a weapon through their guts.

Holg watched as the villager's rally and cancelled the _Haste,_ feeling the power drain from him and a sudden exhaustion take its place, the Paladin having to take to one knee to stop himself from keeling over. His thoughts were broken as a creature tried to take a slash at him… only for an arrow to pierce its skull at the last moment. He would have to ask Zwelious how he manages to see perfectly over 3 kilometres AND hit targets with dead-on precision every time.

The Paladin once again stood to face his enemies, seeing that the villagers had crowded around him like he was a beacon against the enemy… a role he often had to fulfil.

"WE MAKE A STAND HERE TO FIGHT OFF THOSE THAT SEEK OUR RUIN! HOLD FAST MEN!" he shouted, his voice booming for all to hear and sending a thrilling chill down the warrior's backs. As soon as he had said that, he heard a dark rumbling from down an alley and the entire village seemed to go quite, the attacking creatures hesitantly yipping and barking as they retreated into the dark alleys.

As they did, a massive black shape shifted in the darkness as it walked towards the town centre, a deep rumble shaking the ground with each step it took. The villagers all lost their hope the second they saw what it was, considering just dropping their weapons and accepting death… that was until the new guy in the white cloak walked right up to it.

The creature in question was a large 10-foot tall scorpion with golden claws and stinger that was covered in red cracks and moss showing its ancient nature… something that didn't bother the Paladin at all. He strode purposely up the great beast and stopped right in front of it, staring it right in the eyes.

The scorpion took this as a challenge and reared up to the offending thing, baring its mandibles and bellowing a mighty warcry and rallying its own forces, the werewolf things coming back with renewed vigour, although not daring to intrude on the alpha's kill. All the while, Holg stood there unmoved, his cloak ruffling slightly as the roar flowed over him… so he replied in kind. Bellowing a bestial roar that would have challenged any great beast, he brought the head of the axe over his head and charged it with divine power, his holy symbol glowing a blinding gold, his axe looking like it was made of pure divine energy… before coming down in a flash and cleaving the scorpion in two.

It stood on its eight legs for a few seconds, the reality of the situation not quite dawning until, with a sickening wet slap, both sides of the creature fell to the ground, everything stopping as it did. Holg casually pulled back his cloak and sheathed his axe and shield, turning to the remaining werewolf things and shouted profanities at them in Orcish.

Even though the beasts didn't understand any of the words that were being spoken, they got the general idea… get out of there or die. A long-winded howl echoed through the night that signalled the retreat of the beasts and the villagers cheered in triumph over the creatures of the night. The werewolf-things bounded off into the darkness, still not noticing as their brethren were slain by arrows hitting them in the skulls every few seconds.

Holg watched as they retreated, still thankful of the long-range support that Zwelious was providing even at this range… then saw as the beasts were all engulfed in flame as they no doubt ran into Morkai and his spells. He heard the clattering of platemail and turned to see Nora bounding into the town square with lightning still arcing off her armour.

"I thought I instructed no lighting…" he deadpanned, straightening out his cloak to rid it of monster spittle.

"It wasn't my fault, the armour has a mind of its own!" she retorted, the armour sending an arc of lightning at the Paladin as if to further the point. A hearty chuckling came from down a street corner and they saw Adrik walking down with his hammer in hand while dragging one of the werewolf things by the leg.

"Thought ye wud want one ta study or sometin?" he concurred, throwing the beast into the floor in front of the Paladin with a deft chuck. It landed with a thud and tried to run… only to drop dead a moment later as a knife embedded itself into the back of its neck.

"Oops, it just slipped out of my hand…" spoke Frath as he uncloaked himself and pulled the jagged knife out of the werewolf-thing, wiping off the blood and putting it back in its sheath. Out of another side alley, Morkai floated into the square and snuck up on Frath silently, frightening the young thief when he finally realised someone was behind him.

"Morkai, if you would, Zwelious and Genevive still must join us in this victory, would be so kind as to bring them here?"

The wizard nodded and in a moment Zwelious and Gen were standing with them, the former holding the girl in his arms as not to yet wake her. He softly gave the girl off to Holg then walking over to converse with Frath. All the while, the villagers had been recouping after the attack and had only just now worked up the nerve to walk over to the adventurers.

"Excuse me?" came a small and almost feeble tone of what looked to be the town's mayor, judging by the fine clothes he wore and the engraved sword he wielded "I do believe thanks are in order for saving our town…" he finished, finally drawing the attention of Holg.

The Paladin turned, causing the mayor and everyone standing with him to shrink back in slight fear at his colossal form.

"No special thanks are needed your lordship, although my companions and I do find ourselves in need of temporary shelter so I ask that we may stay in a barn for the night perhaps"

"A barn! For people who saved our town I'd say you deserve my own house for that… although on second thoughts I do believe you'll find more than one of our houses will be vacant after tonight" spoke the mayor, gesturing to the dead bodies lying strewn around the town square "You're more than welcome to stay in any house that's free… it'll be an honour to host such powerful Huntsmen and Huntresses as yourselves"

"Huntsmen? Huntresses? Do you mistake us for someone else because I have never been addressed by that title before…" Holg answered, earning a confused look from the mayor.

"Aren't you a Huntsman? Didn't you come from Vale?"

"I have never found myself in such a place named as such, we just happened to be passing through when we saw the fires…"

"Ummmm… ok then? Anyway, rest well and I'll talk to you in the morning!" the mayor replied before being ushered off by a group of men all holding pole-arms. Holg turned back to his group of adventurers and received nods all round, showing that they agreed with the plan… although Frath seemed a bit TOO keen.

"I hope we get some rich-ass dude so we can steal his stuff!" he cheered, already bounding up and down in excitement.

"Have you no respect for the dead Frath!" Holg nearly shouted, ashamed at his companion's words.

"What! It's not as if they're going to be using it again"

Holg just shook his head, walking off down the street to the furthest edge of town, the rest of the group following… except for Frath… he went looting. They set down at a small cosy cottage that once had belonged to a young lady, the fact shown by her body being splayed across the front porch with guts spilled out. Morkai burnt down the body with an off-handed gesture and the rest silently mourned the dead.

Despite the fact that Holg, Nora and Morkai all knew resurrection spells they had made a vow to never let civilians know that no matter the cost, mainly because they would either think they were necromancers, which Morkai was anyway, or they would force them to stay in the town until they had revived every dead person they possibly could, which was something that they didn't want happening.

They settled in for the night, taking out sleeping bags so they could have some semblance of comfort, giving the woman some honour and not sleeping in the bed, then nodded off to sleep, except for Nora and Morkai. The former entered her meditative trance while Morkai took the time to cast _Mordenkainen's Private Sanctum_ around himself so he could study where they were without interrupting anything.

Tomorrow would bring a new day… and with it… hopefully answers.


	2. A new world to defend

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter, I accept any comments be them good or bad, just please review!**

 **Naughtbeast**

Chapter 2:

The light and lilting voices of the morning birds awoke the sleeping form of Holg from his slumber. His eyes slowly opened, the Half-orc feeling the heavy nature minimal sleep, then he sat up in his sleeping bag. Light was shining through the open windows of the cottage they were staying in and he honestly felt like slipping back to sleep… then he remembered the night before. He instantly purged the thoughts of sleep and jumped out of his sleeping bag, carefully moving over the still sleeping members of his group to get to the door.

He silently opened the wood door and the events of last night finally came back into light. Bodies littered the street and destroyed buildings could be seen around every corner. The stench of death seeped through the metal of his helmet, not a new smell in his line of work, but it was unwelcome all the same. He felt a pang of sadness for the villagers, they would be morning the dead for quite some time and it was lucky that the adventurers had come when they did… or he wouldn't have any villagers to think of.

Come to think of it, he still didn't know what type of creature had attacked the village. It was nothing like anything he had seen before and it certainly wasn't the creation of some insane wizard or he would have felt the magical presence. Wherever they were it appeared they were natural.

As Holg turned back to his resting companions he wasn't at all surprised to not see Frath lying among them, knowing that the thief had probably kept true to his word and robbed most of the deceased houses. Even though it might seem out of place for a Paladin to let his criminal actions go unpunished, Holg knew that he was far better off on their side and that Frath would never steal anything that would have sentimental value to the family, only taking anything that had enough gold on it to be worth his while.

As if summoned by his mere thoughts, Frath appeared right next to the paladin with a very confused look… one that told Holg that something was definitely wrong.

"We have a slight problem…" the thief began, his voice ridden with fear.

"One that would warrant our unbreakable thief pause during his morning activities? That would either mean another Lich or something much worse…"

"The people here… they have technology that is better than even the finest of Adrik's smithies could make"

This statement made Holg definitely pause in thought. People that could forge better than the best Dwarven craftsmen of the Byeor mountains was definitely something that could prove extremely useful.

"And how did you come across this knowledge?"

"I was looking through one of the abandoned houses when I stepped on a magical ward or something and turned on a strange stone box and it had MOVING PICTURES!"

"Surely that could only be the work of magic"

"That's what I thought! I checked everywhere but I could find no traces of magic at all! It ran off a strange power source and the pictures disappeared when I pulled a connection rope out of the back of the box!"

"Is this all?"

"No! They don't even use torches for lighting here! There are strange glass globes on their ceilings which project light like something a mage could summon"

"You're starting to sound as though they worked magic into technology…"

"That's what I'm saying! Everything her is like there are sorcerers working around the clock to keep everything working!"

"This is certainly a welcome revelation and I'm afraid we might have to prologue our stay here if your words ring with truth"

Holg broke the conversation and took a stroll through town, watching as lights came on within the houses as the townsfolk woke up to the horrors that had bequeathed them the night before. With heavy steps he walked towards the centre of the town where he had fought the monsters back, assuming that it would be the best place to find the town mayor. He was glad to find that he saw the man from the night before standing on a tall podium addressing a group of villagers that he assumed would be in charge of the clean-up.

When the mayor saw the paladin walking towards him he smiled and opened his arms wide in greeting.

"And here is our towns saviour to grace us with his presence once again! Three cheers for the White Knight!"

"HERE HERE HERE!" the villagers responded as Holg walked within their ranks.

"It is nothing to think of, anyone else would have done the same…"

"Don't be so humble! You and I both know we wouldn't be having this conversation now if you hadn't turned up"

"It is not in the right of a man to boast after such an event as what transpired last night, but I am here to see what me and my group can do to help you in the grim task of erasing the memory of the deceased"

"If you mean by picking up the bodies then that's fine, we were thinking of giving them a funeral pyre in the centre of time like always…"

"So this has happened before?"

"Aye, especially in the last few weeks… the damn things are drawn to sadness and fear and death does a right good job of making that happen every time they come"

"If you require assistance with building defences then we are all too happy to build some form of protection for you"

'Oh no, we could never ask that of you, especially after you pulled that stunt… we have nothing to offer"

"On the contrary, material gain is something I do not seek…"

 **[30 minutes later]**

"So you'll help us build defences and clean up our dead… as long as we tell you about electricity?" confirmed the Mayor, sounding very sceptical and untrusting as he sat in the large seat that was in the middle of his office. Holg was standing opposite the Mayor across a mahogany table, looking imposing as always.

"As I have stated before, that is the agreement…" Holg confirmed again.

"Well then, sign me up because that's the best damn deal I've ever heard of" cheered the Mayor, reaching forward to shake Holg's hand. The paladin looked down at the offending appendage in what could be considered contemplation more than anything.

Holg shrugged and parted the front of his cloak, giving the Mayor a quick glance of the shining silver armour beneath, then a massive arm came out. The forearm was covered in a gigantic gold gauntlet that was easily twice as thick as it should be, talons covering the fingers making it look like it was the hand of a dragon rather than a person. A massive inlaid ruby was coming from the centre of the hand and the Mayor could only guess at the copious amounts of money that it would sell for.

The parts that weren't covered in the gauntlet were armoured in shining silver platemail, radiating an almost blinding sheen, The Mayor reached out and shook his hand, feeling the immense power behind the gasp and released after they shook to confirm the deal.

"My group and I shall begin the clean-up as soon as we are all awoken, then we shall converse on the topic of building a suitable defensive structure"

"See ya soon!" cheered the Mayor, smiling widely and leaving out the door. Holg nodded as he left and snapped his fingers, hearing the soft patter of feet behind him.

"Anything to report Frath?" Holg asked, not bothering to look behind him as he knew he wouldn't see anything thanks to his cloak of invisibility.

"Saying yes would be an understatement… they are centuries ahead of us technology wise! They can communicate with these strange glass stones and they have managed to produce flintlocks far better than even the dwarves!"

It was well known across the lands from where the adventurers had dwelled from that the dwarves had pioneered the expansion of the arms race far beyond simple wood and steel. They had developed devices that could hurl balls of iron at enemies using gunpowder to propel the massive payload across battlefields and into whatever it was aimed at and reduce it to rubble. It was only through their relations with Adrik, who knew a fair amount of dwarven smiths, that they knew that a new weapon was developed known as the flintlock that was a hand-held cannon that proved devastatingly effective against armour…

"How so?"

"I don't know why but they made the shot smaller and more compact but they can fire it as fast as an orc can come up with an insult…"

"How did you come across this information?"

"That's not the point, the thing is that they have it and I can mock Adrik… are we done here?"

"Aye, we shall be staying here for an undefined amount of time until we can gather as much information on these new technologies, go and inform the others to begin body clean-up"

"Got it!" replied the thief, Holg not even hearing him leave but knowing that he had left already. Frath was never heard unless he wanted you to hear him. The paladin left the mayors room and walked back out into the sunlight, relishing the warmth of the sun's rays… today was going to be a long day.

 **[4 hours later]**

"I think that's the last of them…" announced one of the townsfolk, wiping his hands on his shirt and stepping back to acknowledge his work. A massive pile of bodies was gathered in the centre of town, a monument to the fallen that would remind them of the atrocities of the night before. Adrik dropped the last body onto the pile with an unceremonious thump and jumped off to land next to the others. Nora was using her electricity to burn any remnants of the dead off her gauntleted hands, Morkai didn't really need to do that because he just levitated them all and Zwelious… well he was just kneeling there petting some random dog.

"Thanks for your help and everything, you really didn't have to!" added another villager, addressing the adventurers directly, everyone except Nora ignoring it because they had heard it a million times before or honestly didn't care.

"No problem! We're happy to help!"

She was about to continue when she saw Holg walking along the streets with a large map splayed across his palm and the mayor walking beside him nodding to what must have been Holg talking. She bid the villagers adieu and quickly jogged over to fall into step next to them.

"Yo Holgy, what you doing?"

Holg looked up from his mapping for barely a moment to acknowledge her before looking back down and sketching more crosses and dots onto what she assumed was a map of the village.

"I am developing an effective defence plan for the buildings so they will not be worried by the creatures from before"

"You don't know what they are?" the mayor almost shouted, thinking they were insane or something.

"We're not exactly from around here…" Nora answered, seeing the man's face contort in confusion.

"But the Grimm are everywhere, no matter what continent you are on… how have you not heard of them?"

When Nora and Holg heard this they both turned to one another, sharing the unspoken words of 'Oh crap' then Holg tried to smooth things out.

"When we say we are not from around here we mean that we don't even know where we are from… we awoke in the forest with amnesia and could barely even remember our names"

"So that's why you want me to tell you about electricity! AH, I get it now… wait, so how do you guys fight so well?"

"Muscle memory rather than actual memory, it is just natural…"

"Hmmmm… ok then, well we better get back to getting the plans done because everyone will be a bit restless after the bodies are finished burning"

"Understood, I shall work as fast as possible… Nora, could you inform the others to collect as much wood as possible for the fortifications, give me at least 200 stacks by nightfall and we shall work through the night"

"Sure thing boss!" chimed Nora, saluting and running off back to the group, briefly noting the massive pillar of black flames that was starting to fill the clear sky.

 **[3 hours later]**

"HOLD!" shouted Holg to the workers holding a massive log straight up. It was literally a 10-foot high tree that had its branches cut off, held by five villagers who were definitely struggling to keep it straight judging by the sweat dropping off their brows.

"MORKAI NOW!" shouted the half-orc again, watching as the wizard nodded and used magic to throw Adrik up into the air well above the post, the dwarf coming back down with warhammer in hands and smashing the top of the pole and pile-driving it two feet into the ground. The villagers let go and the large pole managed to stand upright with little sway at all.

"Well that's the fencing posts done…" muttered Holg, looking around to see the hundred or so poles that were standing upright in a morphed circle around the outskirts of the village. A massive pile of wood was stocked in the centre of town thanks to Nora's massive sword managing to slice trees down in a single swing and the fact that Morkai could carry about ten trees at once thanks to his magic.

"Now, get the other logs and place them horizontal and then lash them to the posts…" instructed Holg, the villagers groaning in effort as they straightened out their backs and headed off to the centre of town, the paladin staying where he was and observing the posts. He had devised a defensive plan that basically rested on them being able to build a large wooden wall around the town to ensure that they could work in piece through the night.

He was just about to walk away when he felt a small tugging on his cloak and turned around to see Genevive tugging meekly on the hem of his cloak while rubbing her eyes. He smiled and reached down, picking her up and hoisting her onto his shoulders, the girl being about to easily sit there thanks to the massive pauldrons underneath his cloak. He started slowly walking down the halls and got outside before Genevive actually said anything.

"Daddy, where are we?" she asked, yawning through her words while still rubbing her eyes.

"We were teleported far away from home honey… everything is safe so you don't need to worry"

"I won't! Is there something I can do daddy?"

"Well, I think it would be safe if you wandered a bit… just remember to blow the horn if trouble comes" he chastised, turning his head to see her roll her eyes.

"You don't need to keep telling me! I can look after myself thank you very much!" she pouted, frowning at him.

"I'm sure you can, have fun now and try not to get hurt"

Holg took her off his shoulders and she smiled before running off towards a group of the local village children who were all whispering wildly and pointing at him then nearly soiled themselves when he looked their way. He was under no illusion that Genevive wouldn't be able to hold her own in a fight but he still didn't want her getting hurt.

"Frath, would you make sure nothing happens and remember the rules" Holg spoke to what seemed like thin air. He didn't receive any response other than feeling the air around him rush a bit faster than usual, knowing it was definitely not the wind.

He nodded to himself and continued heading to the centre of the town, intent on helping out with the construction. A minute later he saw Zwelious standing on a large podium instructing the townfolk on where to take the post and he walked up the steps to join him. He saw that already the entire East side of the village a 9-foot high wall erected and the North and South were already half-way done.

"I must commend you Zwelious, I never thought it would progress at such a rate"

"Well, it's mostly thanks to the fact that Nora and Adrik can both arm-wrestle a giant and that Morkai… well I don't need to explain that, but I also want to talk to you about something"

"Aye…"

"To put it plainly, they do not have any form of magic here"

"Do explain" Holg asked, his interest piqued.

"They have never heard of any of our probably most mundane spells but they do speak about some specially trained warriors known as Huntsmen who can utilise very specific magic sets…"

"The mayor did mistake us for these Huntsmen so I assume they must be very powerful"

"Aye, the villagers think they're like gods basically although I highly doubt they would know since I haven't seen a single holy symbol since I got here"

"Noted, so you say that these Huntsmen can use magic?"

"The villagers say they call them Semblances and each individual is unique in their casting… they only speak of very simple spells such as teleporting and _Haste_ spells yet the Huntsmen appear to be able to use them as cantrips"

"So they are expert mages?"

"The villagers speak of them as expert blade wielders and they don't seem to use much combat magic, only that which enhances their weapon usage"

"Such as elemental attacks?"

"Strangely enough, the inhabitants of this plane have found crystals that can be used to imitate the elements to great effect and many weapons here incorporate that so they can basically have _Elemental Weapon_ active without casting"

"Definitely interesting, I will need to inquire more into this with the mayor tomorrow, for now I will help with the building as best as I can, is there anyone that requires assistance?"

"Well, you could help the villagers over their lifting that pile of logs because they can really only move one at a time from the weight and… well you have those gauntlets so I assume you'll put everyone else to shame the second you use them"

"I shall endeavour to make them feel appreciated" Holg announced before he left the podium, walking over to a particular group who was having trouble moving a thick log. As he approached, they let it drop to the ground with a massive thud and stepped back to wipe the sweat off their brows.

"Do not worry about this tree my friends, I shall transport it so you can move onto another" Holg addressed them, drawing a laugh from all of them.

"If you think you can lift it then go ahead, we won't stop you!" the lead one spoke through an amused laugh. Holg walked straight up to the log and sized it up, moving so that he was next to the balance point. He pushed aside his cloak so that it was sitting behind his pauldrons and didn't obstruct his arm movements. When the villagers saw what laid beneath, they were awed into silence.

Shining silver platemail covered almost every part of his body, all of it at least an inch thick, anything that wasn't covered having a layer of silver chainmail beneath it. Etchings and symbols all made of pure gold adorned the armour with the symbol of Kord emblazoned directly on his chestplate, made of hardened demon blood. His hood was still kept low but he saw the looks of complete awe on all their expressions at the sight of his battle-plate.

He stretched his arms before grabbing the centre of the massive log with his left hand, the taloned fingers digging into the wood and providing grip… before lifting it into the air with almost no effort. The villagers nearly soiled themselves as he was literally holding a 10-foot tall tree that was at least a foot thick… with one hand.

"I suggest you collect another log and follow me" Holg spoke before walking over to the pile and taking another log in his right hand and walking off like they weighed nothing.

One of the gifts that he received on his journeys were his artefact gauntlets known as the _Earthshakers…_ named so because they gave the user strength that could literally put the Tarrasque to shame. He found them extremely helpful in any situation he could think of and he could cast _Earthquake_ once per day without needed to use any of his stored magical energy.

Clearing his thoughts, he left the stunned villagers on their own and went off to the North of the village to drop off the logs, finding Nora helping three other villagers to lift a log roughly the same size as one of the ones he was carrying. When she saw him she didn't really seem that phased at all but sent a look that said 'show off' to him.

He dumped them on the pile they had gathered that were going to be attached to the standing posts, drawing more than a few dazed looks from the villagers. He took the time he had to observe the wall that had already been built. It looked sturdy enough to definitely give a giant a run for its money but he was sure it wouldn't stand up to one of the larger scorpion 'Grimm' he had killed the night before.

But he wasn't focused on building wooden fortifications… he would indeed introduce the villagers to the world of magic when they saw what he had planned. But that was for another time, for now… it was time to build a wall! **(No Donald Trump at all!)**


	3. Past always haunts

**Sooooo... my friends nagged me into making another chapter and here we are... with another chapter...**

 **This story is kinda a follow-on from a D &D campaign me and my friends did and I also happened to make a fanfic story out of that as well... although it isn't finished...**

 **If you want to get a bit more backstory for the characters then just head to 'A Shadow in the Mists' in the Dungeons and Dragons fanfic section and you'll know when you find it... although I'll give some backstory to the characters I won't explain them as in-depth as in my other fanfic...**

 **Naughtbeast**

Chapter 3:

Silence…. That was all that the solitary figure heard as he sat meditating in the deep forests of Vale. A wind rushed through the trees and straight past the figure, although it did nothing to ruffle the pure white cloak he wore. A single tome sat in his grasp, a thick collection of knowledge that sat splayed open in his palms, currently opened to pages containing information on the many different planes of existence. The figures hands moved from under the book and traced lines of words on the page as if to contemplate their very existence.

Holg had been sitting in the forest for the entire night, telling the others that he was scouting ahead and taking out any of the strange 'Grimm' creatures that might come close to the village. The massive wooden blockade had been completed and sentries were posted on the walls at varying intervals to ensure that an alarm would be sounded the second one of the creatures were seen.

He was sitting alone because he needed to check something, a nagging feeling that found presence at the back of his mind, the Paladin feeling as though something was wrong even though he hadn't had any actual message that it was set in stone. The book was a magical collection of all planes that had been, are being or ever will be… yet none of them pointed to where he was now. It was impossible for the spell to have teleported them to another location on the material plane as it was set for inter-dimensional travel and there were no other realms that harboured humans with the technological advancements such as those they had witnessed.

The lines he was reading over confirmed his suspicions… they were in a realm that had never been visited before. It was the only logical explanation given the circumstances but some things still didn't add up. The magic weavings of this world were exactly the same as the Material Plane yet the people here didn't even appear to be able to harness it like even the most basic of sorcerers.

"Just where are we…" he asked to no one in particular, turning to the very last page of the book to seek what could only be the last explanation of their strange appearance in this world. As he read it, his heart was beating faster and faster when the realisation came upon him.

 _In the events of which a spell requiring focus is broken by the departure of the caster's soul then the soul may still contribute to the closure of the spell although it is known to have affects severely different from what was originally intended. Known occurrences include soul-tearing of any beings in close proximity to the caster, summoning of an Orb of Destruction for more volatile spells, or, in very rare cases an acceleration of the spells effects that propel those in close proximity to the intended destination although it has been known to send them several years' latter of the intended target._

"No…" he whispered, slamming the book shut as if the action would erase any and all existence of what he had just read "It cannot be true…"

With a heavy heart, he broke his trance and put the book away behind the folds of his cloak and headed back to the village, hearing the muttering and cursing of the guards he had left from a mile away. He put more weight into his steps and a few seconds later the guards silenced themselves when he was sure he came into earshot. When the darkness cleared enough for him to get a good view of the village, he saw the large 9-foot tall wooden walls that surrounded it and the massive gates that barred entrance to the protected peoples.

"OI! Who's out there!" shouted one of the sentry's, hefting what Holg assume to be a large firearm in his grips. "State your business!"

"I am one of the adventurers that protected your village yester-night and I seek entrance once again into your village"

"Ummm… permission granted?" answered the sentry, being a bit phased by the man's formal speaking. He went over to tell the others to open the gate but by then, Holg had already walked over and pushed them open, barely spending any effort to move the thick gates. The Paladin left the villagers to the task of protecting it and walked purposefully towards where his companions were sleeping.

As he opened the door, he was greeted with the sight of Nora sharpening her massive greatsword on a whetstone, somehow not making a single noise with the normally very loud object. She nodded to him but otherwise didn't seem at all interested with his late night entrance. The paladin replied the curtesy and went over to where his bedding was, laying down but still not going to sleep for he had far too much to think about. If what he had found was true, then they were in far more trouble than they had originally thought.

Hours went by and before long the rays of dawn were shining through the windows of their borrowed dwelling. The other members of the party were yet to awake from their slumber and he guessed it would be the same for most of the village so that still gave him time to complete the second part of the defence.

His intentions were to remain a secret for the villagers as they were yet to discover the truth about magic and it would be easier for them to not witness the process but rather just find the end results. He carefully altered his mind and tapped into the deeper parts which he called the webways. Finding the connection he was looking for, he sent a mental message straight through and his efforts gave fruition when Morkai rose from his slumber and floated up to stand.

"I assume that you would now like to commence the ulterior plan of protecting the village?" Morkai telepathically sent, dusting off his robes and cracking his bones to relieve the pressure built up.

"How many times must I tell you to refrain from mind-reading Morkai?" Holg mentally replied, standing from his own bedding and walking out into the night once again with the mage in tow. The Paladin produced a large clump of iron from within the folds of his cloak, not even the practiced magician knowing where it came from. He handed it off to Morkai, or what could be considered handing it off as the mage just levitated it in front of him, then walked to the most derelict part of the village where most of the casualties from the night before were experienced.

"Transmutation…" Holg spoke, knowing it was all that Morkai would need to know what to do.

"Ahhh… excellent plan, I was wondering how you hoped to keep out those beasts and it appears I underestimated your tactician yet again"

"I thought you were able to read my mind and discern that quite a time ago"

"You are mistaken for I can only read the most fleeting glances of a being's thoughts be those only that have which passed their mind mere moments before I tap into them"

"Noted, now if you would…"

Morkai nodded and levitated the block of iron so that it directly in front of his face. His hands slowly lifted from beneath his midnight black cloak that was much the same as his skin, dark purple energy swirling around his palms. The mist continued swirling and growing in size until he pushed it forward with a gesture of his hands and it completely covered the entire block. It twisted a warped the block and melted it into a strange goo while still floating a few inches in front of his hands.

To complete the spell, Morkai floated over to the closest part of the wall and pushed the coalesced blob of melted iron into the wood, the wood immediately around the affected area starting to hiss and crackle at the assault to their existence. A blight began spreading across the wood and soon the wood of around 3 house blocks was covered in a twisted and pulsing growth. Morkai floated over to the wood and placed his hand on a blighted trunk and a sudden effect began taking hold. From where he touched, the blight turned solid and smoothed out until it held a slightly rusty sheen, the wood turning to solid iron.

It took little under ten minutes before the entire section of wall was now a solid block of iron that was at least a foot thick at its thinnest with the rest of the entire wall section soon to follow. Morkai floated back over to join the Paladin and bowed with respect to show he was finished.

"Much thanks my Tiefling friend, you continue to prove your magic invaluable in every situation"

"You are too kind Holg, it is merely parlour tricks you have me performing, I am yet to find a worthy adversary to unleash my true powers upon"

"And I hope you find them, for now it is the people of this village we must help until we learn all we can…"

"Understood my lord, I believe the others are awake so it is best we see what we can learn today after holding up part of our deal"

"Excellent plan, let us make haste and use these fleeting daylight hours"

Holg and Morkai both left the wall to continue its morphing and began heading back to their borrowed housing. As they entered, they heard a few more voices than those who they knew and went into a back room to find the others crowded around a strange box with moving pictures.

"Frath, I assume you're responsible for this?" Holg questioned, seeing that a woman was shown on the screen presumably talking with moving script beneath her.

"Yeah, I was looking around in one of the rich people's houses and I spotted one of them using this thing so I picked up a few tricks…" the thief answered, enraptured in the moving pictures "It's a lot like scrying but it is like the people on the other end know they are being watched and actually speak to whatever is capturing this image"

"Strange, is there anything useful you have learnt?"

"There are a multitude of different 'stations' as they are called with things ranging from people making stories out of moving drawings and weird shows that just watch people's daily lives but this one has proved to be most useful as it shows the current news as it happens on this world, it's like we are on an entirely new material plane!"

"What information have you gathered?"

"The biggest to note is that they really only have humans here, although they have a spin-off race of half-humans with animalistic traits"

"Like half-orcs or dragonborns?"

"Far from it, the most they have is maybe a pair of horns or a tail!" the thief exclaimed, sounding slightly surprised "the worst part is that they are regarded as degenerates or scum and so this nation appears to be in a passive war between the two species and the best talks between them border on strait up racism…"

"So they wouldn't exactly take too kindly to people walking around with black skin and a tail aye?" Morkai asked, cringing as he received another nod.

"Don't take it as a sign to hide again Morkai…" Holg warned, knowing just how much Tieflings were discriminated in their world.

"Far from it, magic will always show a solution" the wizard explained, glowing purple mist surrounding his body and completely encasing it before dissipating and revealing a burly middle-aged man with a beard who was wearing dark brown pants and a tan shirt. "I think this disguise will suit its purposes" spoke the man, his voice sounding much deeper and without the tell-tale lisp of a forked tongue.

"With that sorted, we should probably keep Zwelious out of sight for a while until we leave… on the topic of our dealings here, after today we shall be travelling back to the Material plane and relaying our findings to the Deva messenger sent to the Emerald Enclave temple, do we have any opposition?"

"But Daddy, didn't the people see dragon-man's scales and Nora's ears?" Genevive asked, not using Zwelious' name because she couldn't really say it properly and she didn't want to annoy him.

"I kept my wood-plate on every time I was outside…" Zwelious answered, gesturing to the bark armour that was lying on his bedding "It hides my tail and I had my moss veil to hide my face"

One thing that continuously stumped most of the party was the dragonborn's use of unconventional armour that somehow still stood up to steel and plate even when it was only made of armour. The tree-bark would stop axe slices much better than even the leather that Frath wore and the moss that covered most of it like a cloak acted like chainmail and had stopped arrows on more than one occasion.

"Plus I don't think that anyone was looking at her ears considering her… Elvish figure" Frath added, getting a slap on the back of his head for the comment.

"Back onto topic, Frath and I shall be with the mayor for most of the daylight hours so I hope you may find something to occupy your time but please ensure that the villagers do not find our races that easily"

"WHY DO I HAVE TO GO!" pouted the thief, glaring daggers at Holg.

"As we both know; you are far more adept at obtaining information from those that might otherwise not be obliged to inform us of"

"Oohh! Interrogation, just what I wanted to warm up a nice summer's day…" Frath cheered, getting off the floor almost immediately and heading for the door, putting on his cloak as he did... and then putting on another one… and another.

"Frath, why do ya keep puttin on three of dose cloaks?" Adrik put in, giving the thief a questioning look.

"It's like you don't even know me! I keep them around because wearing one cloak is too regular… and because it keeps my knives safe" answered Frath, pushing the edges of his cloak to the side to show rows upon rows of varying knives that lines the insides of the cloak's thick fabric.

"We must make haste, the mayor shall be expecting us soon" cut in Holg, putting picking up his axe and shield and putting them on his back beneath his own cloak. Roughly a minute later they were in the mayor's office sitting down at a large 12-person table that had five other people apart from the two adventurers. Twenty minutes after that, the conversation was in full swing and Frath was already getting extremely bored.

"And these CCT towers let you speak to those that are many thousands of leagues away"

"Yep, we can sit here comfortably in our own home and talk to people from all the way in Atlas, although right now the Grimm broke our connection to the tower so we'll be out of contact for a while… although the local city's bound to send someone to check on us"

As soon as Frath heard this, he felt a gut feeling deep down that whoever was coming would mean serious trouble for them, standing up and excusing himself from the table to leave, intent on gathering intelligence on whatever was coming their way. Holg ignored his compatriot and continued questioning the mayor.

"And this Atlas?"

"The northern most continent and probably the best equipped to take care of Grimm, although I should probably say that the army stationed there is controlled by probably the most uptight man in the world who'll shoot his men for anything that's akin to desertion, General Ironwood's his name"

"A General must earn his men's respect through trial by fire, not through the threat of sending his men into that fire"

"Ummm… ok then? Well is there anything else we can do for you?"

"It may be a very touchy subject for you but I must talk about the half-species that live around here"

"You mean the Faunus right?" the mayor asked to confirm, sounding a bit sceptical about where the conversation was going.

"If that is what they are known by then aye, I would like to know how you view them in this village"

"We don't think that the Faunus are below humans in any way at all, unlike the larger cities, and we're happy to have them around as much as possible"

"Then may I ask why do they stay within their homes and we can only catch fleeting glances?"

"We weren't sure that you felt the same way" nervously replied the mayor, not wanting to anger the massive warrior.

"If that is what you think would happen then you are sorely mistaken, for I do not harbour ill-intent among my brethren"

"You're a Faunus?" the mayor exclaimed as he went wide-eyed. "That would certainly explain your strength" he muttered under his breath.

"That is correct, although you might be a bit far-off when likening me to the half-animals"

Holg continued his explanation by pulling back his hood, revealing the shining silver helm that he wore, a thick block of iron with only two slits to see through and a few holes to breath, then continued by releasing the straps and taking it off. When the mayor saw the half-orc's face he gasped in disbelief, not at all believing what he saw in front of him.

"No offence at all but what are you?" he asked nervously, scared to death with what was sitting across the table.

"I am what is known as a half-orc and I would probably be considered far more likened to an animal that I am born from, do not be shamed with your response, I have experienced anything form refusal to converse to brawls just because of my appearance"

"Damn… if the Faunus get trashed because of what they look like then I can't even start to think of the stuff they would have done to you"

"Fret not for it is far behind me, one of the reasons I keep a hood on at almost all times… for now I believe my curiosity is sated and I can return to my companions with new"

"Many thanks to you all, I really wish I could thank you in some way, will you be staying?"

"My companions and I unfortunately must make Eastward on our journey, although I wish you all much fortune and we shall mourn your dead for days to come"

"Sad to hear, I wish you luck and safe travels!"

Holg stood and picked up his helmet, contemplating about it for a while before settling with putting it beneath his arm and then he walked out of the mayor's house, making way to their borrowed housing once again. He made it there in great steed, only receiving a few strange looks from the rest of the village and he noticed that a lot more Faunus were walking around the streets than before.

As he entered their housing, he set his helmet down on an armour stand with Nora's armour neatly placed on it, although there was still room for the helmet because she was notorious for not wearing headgear into battle. He heard the familiar sounds of the strange glass box and went over to find Nora, Zwelious and Adrik all sitting raptly in front of it.

"Bout time ya got back pig!" Adrik snorted as he tore a bit of meat off a chicken leg he was eating.

"I am having much the same thoughts my Dwarven friend, although I must ask where have Genivive and Frath gone to?"

"The cute one's off in the forest while dark and knifey is running along the walls for some reason"

"I've never heard Frath called cute before" Zwelious teased, getting punched in the side by Nora.

"Understood… piece together your belongings for we are heading out soon after I bring those two back, there is still much of this plane we must explore and I intend to do so within the days after consulting the Gods"

"Damn it, I was just going to get my hair done by one of the local ladies!" Nora complained, flicking out her hip-length blonde hair.

Holg smiled at her antics but then that smile instantly changed to a deep frown when he saw an image appear on the device they were watching. He pushed aside Adrik to get a better view and when he did, he nearly feinted. A map of the continent they were on was showing and he knew those coastlines. He had traversed this very land-mass a mere five years prior… back when the old multiverse was still in existence. The image zoomed out to show the entire world… and that was when he knew it for a fact… they were back in the old Material Plane they left for the 'Great One'.

Holg swore in every single tongue he knew and smashed in the screen showing the map, his eyes filling with rage that could rival even the hardiest of Barbarians. He barely managed to contain his rage long enough so that he could get out of the house and village until he was in the forest once again, choosing to relieve his anger by snapping tree's in half like twigs. If they truly were back in the old Material plane, then it meant that the Great One and all it ever did was still tainting the very fabric of this reality and he had no doubt that it had already sensed that they had arrived… but why was it not doing anything. A God of that power could have simple willed them into inexistence, yet by his knowledge it still hadn't acted.

His rage wore down enough so that he could see what he had done to the forest, making it look like a very angry giant had torn through it… which wasn't far from the truth. His thoughts shifted back to getting his companions back to safety, if the Great One hadn't done anything then he wasn't going to waste that opportunity… he would need to act now. Just as he stood up to collect his thoughts, the one sound he definitely didn't want to hear reverberated through the forest echoing against the tree's. The signature sound of Genevive's war-horn, a high-pitched wavering tone that was light and soft… although it only meant one thing.

He drew his axe and shield and quickly cast a _Haste_ spell then sprinted full-boar in the direction of the sound. Any trees that were in his way he simple side-stepped or smashed through with his shield, thundering straight towards where she had blown the horn. Genevive was instructed that the war-horn she was given would only be blown in emergency situations, something which deeply troubled the Paladin.

It wasn't long before he thundered into a clearing and saw four people standing underneath a tree with a crying Genevive hanging onto a tree branch with one hand and holding the horn with the other.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" he roared, causing three of them to jump away quickly while the last didn't quite have time to move so they were sent flying when a charging half-orc slammed into them. When Genevive saw that he had arrived, she pocketed the war-horn and jumped down onto the ground, hiding behind one of his legs. Holg prepared for battle and shrugged his cloak so that it sat behind his pauldrons and freed up his arm movements and revealing his pristine silver plate-mail beneath, his shield and axe already in a defensive position.

"What happened honey?" Holg asked quickly as the people recovered from the Paladin's barging in. As he observed them he noticed just how strange they were. They wore the weirdest of clothing choices, the half-orc noticing that they really only had two major alternating colours on their outfits. They only appeared to be teenagers and they were all girls, wearing colours of red, white, black and yellow.

"Mean girls are trying to hurt me!" she squealed, her voice muffled as she held tightly onto the folds of his cloak with her head hidden behind it.

"HEY! We were trying to help you!" argued the yellow one, not at all happy with Genevive's explanation and definitely didn't look happy with Holg either. Her hair looked vaguely similar to Nora's although it was very messy and the clothing she wore definitely reminded him of women that worked in a whorehouse.

"Well then would you care to explain what you were doing!" snarled Holg back, making the girl back down which he further enforced by setting fire to his axe-head with _Elemental Weapon_.

"We were coming to check on the village and we saw she was getting attacked by a beowolf so we tried to help!" the red one answered, looking a bit fearful of the massive axe and shield.

"She is my daughter so you better be careful that you aren't lying or I'll have your heads…"

"She's your daughter? That can't be possible when you're… whatever you are" the one in white spoke, her hands holding a rapier that looked to be made of silver and Holg could see a faint glow of what looked to be elemental magic near the hilt.

"Watch your tongue girl, now this just looks to be a miss-understanding so it is best that you leave before I have my friend slit your throats where you stand, I have much reason to be enraged right now so I will hold you to my promise if you do anything"

"What friend, your little girl?" mocked the white one again… before she instantly took back her response when she felt the cold embrace of steel press against her neck.

"If by girl you mean someone who can end your life in a second then yes… if not, then you are deeply mistaken" spoke Frath in a whisper, not drawing the attention of the others then slipping back into the tree's unseen thanks to his invisibility cloak.

"I recommend you get on your way and leave us in peace before you say something you will regret, for I hold my honor very high and I shall not have it squandered by your youthful ignorance" Holg warned while loosening the grip on his axe and de-activating the fire. Holg sheathed his weapons and began walking away… until a certain comment found its way into his already enraged ears.

"Pfft… I doubt a pig like you would have any honor"

He stopped on the spot like he was struck by lightning and his blood boiled to a point where he could no longer stare straight. Frath had just been out of earshot of the comment but he still saw what was happening to Holg… and he didn't like it. The thief teleported over to the Paladin's side while invisible and whispered into his ear to try and get him to stop.

"Don't do anything stupid Holg, they're just stupid teenagers with more ego than brains so can we just leave them and get back to smashing the living crap out of some demons?"

"It is not only them… it is this place"

"How does that have anything to do with this"

"This plane… it was where we left the Great One"

Frath was literally shocked into silence far quicker than he had expected, his hands immediately going to a holy symbol around his neck.

"God's protect us…"

Holg noticed that the girls still hadn't left so he turned around once again to face them. He could take being in his most hate place normally… but when you combine it with a half-orc personality, a really annoying group of teenagers and an already pissed Holg… it wasn't exactly a recipe for some nice cake.

"Why have you not left!" he growled, almost all of them except the one in white.

"Because we need to check on the village and you're blocking you path?" quipped the white one, saying it as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"The village is fine so leave and tell whoever you work for to never come back here" the Paladin finished, expecting them to leave but finding no such result.

"And why should we take the word of a pig?"

Holg restrained himself enough to stop his arm from lashing out, though that didn't mean he was ready to slice the girl in half.

"Human, I will give you one last chance… or I WILL be forced to break you"

"And why should I be scared… I don't even think you can cut the hairs on the back of your head properly let alone an actual person"

Holg roared and drew his axe from its sheath, pointing is straight at the girl and growling loudly as he did.

"I challenge you to Nex Sacramentum trial by combat, if you do not accept then you shall die like the worthless pig you claim I to be" he announced through a gritted mouth while making the wood handle of his axe creak and moan with how tightly he was holding it.

"Fine, I accept your stupid challenge…" she said immediately, not even knowing what it meant. Frath, on the other hand, knew exactly what it entailed… and she had just signed away her life.

"YOU STUPID GIRL!" he shouted while pulling down his hood and pulling on Holg's arm, trying desperately to stop the Paladin as a bright white light began forming around his off-hand.

"What? It's not as if he's going to kill me!" she laughed.

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT IS YOU IMBICILE! NEX SACRAMENTUM IS COMBAT TO THE DEATH… ONLY ONE MAY LEAVE THE ARENA AFTER THE SPELL IS CAST!" he screamed, punching the half-orc's sides while not producing any results.

"WHAT!" she squealed, trying to run… only it was too late for that. With a flash of bright white light, a 60-foot wide circle etched itself into the ground and the girl was pulled back into the middle. She couldn't even conjure up a glyph to try and escape through all the sheer amount of fear that was passing through her. Frath and the others were blasted back with an unseen force until they were at the very edges of the arena.

"Through only death shall we pass through those walls and all others that enter shall be bound by the laws of Nex Sacramentum until but one walks out alive…" toned the half-orc, dropping into a combat stance and locking the straps of his shield in place.

"I CAN'T DO THIS!" the girl screamed, trying desperately to bash on the edges of the barrier but to no avail as a strange white energy met her every blow.

"You have agreed to the rights of the duel and are bonded by contract until a time at which the conditions are met… there is no way to retreat these borders except by magical means and I doubt you would be able to accomplish such a feat"

The girls on the outside were completely dumbstruck by Paladin's actions, it was the one in red that acted first after seeing the whole even unfold.

"WEISS!" she screamed, running forward to try and grab the girl… only to be stopped by a pair of hands grabbing her by the arm and holding her back.

"Don't…" spoke the thief solemnly, knowing it would be hard for the girl to just leave it "She is gone now and it is far better if you don't get yourself tangled up in her mess"

"BUT SHE'S GOING TO BE KILLED!"

"Yes, and you will be too if you do not leave it… if you take even a single step into that arena then you will have to face my friend and live… something which I doubt will happen"

"We can take him!" spoke the one in yellow, her bracelets extending into bracers that covered her fore-arms, leading the thief to believe she was a close-quarters fighter.

"Depends honey, ever killed an angel?"

"What? No!"

"Then you're going to have an awfully hard time taking out big, mean and armoury over there"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just watch and maybe your friend there will coax it out of him"

Said Paladin was staring the girl down, giving her his most intimidating glare he possibly could muster and it was damn well working, so much that he was sure he didn't even need to use his magic to make her scream for her mummy. The girl was slowly coming to terms with what was happening, although her skin was getting paler with every passing second, something the Paladin thought was impossible given her already fine complexion.

"I will begin when you are ready milady, let the best combatant win…" spoke the half-orc.

She gripped her rapier with renewed vigour and muttered something to herself before stranding as straight as she possibly could and trying to give her won intimidating look… and failing miserably. Holg almost had the urge to scoff at her pathetic attempt at intimidation but instead charged a _Thunderous Smite_ into his axe, making lightning ripple along the cold silver of the axe-head.

The girl seemed to reply in kind and spun the small cylinder at the top of her rapiers hilt, the ricasso (blade part for all you non-medieval-sword fans) of the weapon being lined with a red tinge. She took in a deep breath and nodded, signalling she was ready.

And like that… the fight between god and girl began.


	4. Not a new chapter

So, this isn't really a chapter per-say but it is still in relation to the story. This is just a chapter for the Character sheets to help explain their personalities such as traits, flaws and other things. It is not going to include weapons armour or items because I'll introduce them later and I don't want any spoilers…

Also to anyone thinking if that spell is overpowered it is one that I made (With some help from Darksiders) and this is how it works…

 **Nex Sacramentum:**

5th level Paladin spell: 60-feet range, action, lasts until spell is broken or the terms are met

The spell can only be broken by a _Wish_ spell or something of the same effect

Description: The caster challenges another being with a soul that exists on the same plane of existence and binds it to a battle to the death. A 60-foot wide, 20-foot high cylinder is formed centring on the point in between the caster and the target. The caster and target cannot leave the spell with any spell, including teleport spells or planar travel, though a _Wish_ spell does allow for this. Both the target and the caster must be willing to enter the spell and if one objects it cannot be cast. The caster must proclaim that they are initiating the spell and the target must accept and once they do, they cannot retreat on their acceptance. If the target states that they do not know the terms, then the caster must share with them the full effects of the spell or it will automatically fail even if they accept.

So technically, if Weiss had asked what it was she would have gotten a square answer and avoided all the trouble…

And now for character sheets. I might not have gotten them all right because I only play as Holg and I mostly guessed for everyone else except for the features.

 **Holg Braveshield:**

Main Class: Paladin – lvl20 Oath of the Ancients

Alignment: Chaotic Good – fights evil and doesn't care how he gets it done – does not kill evil on sight if they have done no wrong - believes in there being good in everyone, even in creatures that might seem evil at first

Race: Half-orc

Height: 7'

Age: 25 – immortal

Eye colour: Silver – scars over both eyes, left is blinded

Skin colour: Light green

Hair colour: Black

Hair Style: Dreadlocks pulled behind his head

Flaw: Often hears veiled insults and is quick to anger

Ideals: Respect – treats all with the same respect no matter their station or alignment

Personality trait: Revenge – you can do me harm but never to my companions, collects mementoes of worthy battles.

Languages: Can speak, read and write Common, Orcish, Dwarvish, Elvish and Draconic

Proficiencies: All armour, shields, martial + simple weapons

STR: 32 – magically enhanced by magical gauntlets (Normally 20)

DEX: 9

CON: 20

INT: 12

WIS: 10

CHA: 17

Boons + Feats: Mobile, Shield Master, Sentinel, Boon of Recovery and Boon of Invincibility

Before the story: Was orphaned 3 times by the time he was 5 and witness his last family's death before being taken in by Priests of Pholtus, joined the military at age 15 and became a Paladin at 18 then traveled for two years before beginning his quest against the Great One. Received a portion of Kord's power, god of war.

 **Frath Hornraven:**

Main Class: Rogue – lvl20 Thief archetype

Alignment: True Neutral

Race: Human

Height: 5' 10"

Age: 21

Eye colour: Green

Skin colour: Fair

Hair colour: Sandy

Hair style: Short-cut trim

Flaws: Greedy – as long as there is gold involved he's up for it

Ideals: Spare the innocent – believes that no-one should go through with the betrayal that he went through and so he protects all those that have everything to live for

Personality traits: Reserved and untrusting – keeps any personal matters to himself but is otherwise lively, only trusts his friends and takes a long time to truly think of someone as a friend

Languages: Can speak, read and write Common and Abyssal, can read Draconic and Dwarvish

Proficiencies: Light armour and simple melee and ranged weapons

STR: 10

DEX: 24

CON: 12

INT: 17

WIS: 12

CHA: 15

Boons + feats: Mobile, Boon of Undetectability, Boon of Speed

Before the story: Born into a noble family with a wealthy trading business, lived a normal life until the age of 7 when his mother died, then his father re-married but died mysteriously two days after the wedding. His mother inherited the business and sent him off to an orphanage until, two years later, he escaped and became a thief. He tried to make enough money to leave the city but never managed until he was hired by Holg to assist him as a thief. Became the leader of the Zhentarim just before the final battle with the Great One. Denied the opportunity to receive godly powers and instead became the champion of Ralashaz, god of luck.

 **Zwelious 'Shieldbiter' Norixius**

Main Class: Ranger – lvl20 Hunter archetype

Alignment: Lawfully Neutral – Fights for the natural balance of the world and destroys all those who try and disrupt that balance

Race: Dragonborn - Copper

Height: 6' 2"

Age: 32

Eye colour: Blue

Skin colour: Bronze – two bright blue stripes running down his back to his tail

Hair colour: none

Hair style: none

Flaws: No fear – doesn't pay attention to pain throughout a fight and only cares when he's dead or can't move

Ideals: Balance – tries to not take sides in an argument unless he feels very strongly about it

Personality traits: No respite for the weak – refuses to help those who can't help themselves

Languages: Can speak, read and write Common, Draconic and Orcish

Proficiencies: Light and Medium armours, shields, martial and simple melee and ranged weapons

STR: 13

DEX: 18

CON:15

INT:14

WIS: 17

CHA: 12

Boons + feats: Boon of Peerless Aim, Boon of Combat Prowess

Before the story: Orginally raised by wolves in the deep forests of Oerick, didn't see civilization until age 5. Lived in poverty until he was 12 when he took up hunting for the town of Losune. Eventually ran out of work from increased hunting tariffs and took up bounty hunting, meeting Holg a few years after. Became a high-ranking member of the Emerald Enclave before the battle with the Great One and after the battle received partial godly power from the goddess of nature, Beory.

 **Adrik Fireforge:**

Main Class: Barbarian – lvl20 Totem Warrior Bear

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral – fights for no other reason other than because he can

Race: Mountain Dwarf

Height: 4' 7"

Age: 240

Eye colour: Bronze

Skin colour: Tan

Hair colour: Brown

Hair style: Dreadlocked to back of neck

Flaws: Free will – sometimes straight-out refuses people orders directed at him and follows his own path

Ideals: Upholding freedom – Fights against oppression and doesn't recognise anyone who hasn't proven themselves to him

Personality traits: Respecting of the Strong – Only see's people who are great warriors as equals

Languages: Can speak, read and write Common and Dwarvish

Proficiencies: Martial and simple melee weapons and thrown ranged weapons, blacksmithing

STR: 18

DEX: 12

CON: 24

INT: 10

WIS: 10

CHA: 15

Boons + feats: Boon of Resilience, Boon of Fortitude

Before the story: Is the recognised dwarven king of the Byeor mountains although he leaves his governing to his advisors. Orphaned at birth and adopted by the previous king and queen of the Byeor, lived a privileged life until he was saved by Holg during an orc raid and joined the Paladin in his journeys. Fought alongside Holg, Frath and Zwelious against the Great One and was given a portion of the patron god of mountain dwarf's power, Dumathoin.

 **Morkai Creed:**

Main Class: Wizard – lvl20 School of Necromancy

Alignment: Lawful Neutral – upholds his master's traditions and tries to make a good name for Necromancers

Race: Tiefling

Height: 5' 8"

Age: 42

Eye colour: Amber

Skin colour: Dark Black – small accents of red on hands and neck

Hair colour: Black

Hair style: Short cut no sides

Flaws: No mercy – he finds no reason for someone to live purely for the point of life and familial ties matter not

Ideals: Striving for a better name – looks to brighten the name for Necromancers and make people view them as they would a normal wizard or sorcerer

Personality traits: Delight in pain – he finds pleasure in watching creatures writhe in pain and seeing their lives drain form their bodies… whether it be friend of foe means nothing to him

Languages: Can speak, read and write Common, Abyssal and Elemental

Proficiencies: Light armour, Whips and simple melee weapons

STR: 8

DEX: 15

CON: 14

INT: 20

WIS: 18

CHA: 18

Boons + feats: Boon of High Magic, Boon of Spell Recall

Before the story: He was born when a magician tried to revive his mother but instead brought him to life in her womb. Was taken in by a Necromancer who lived in an underground and studied for a large portion of his life. He left after his master became a Lich and he was forced to kill him, swearing a pact to continue his master's original studies until he dies. After the transportation to the new Material Plane, he was given a vision by Mystra, the goddess of magic, that told him to seek out the companions who were responsible for helping the gods if he wanted to gain more power. He was credited with destroying a Lich that threatened one of Mystra's divine temples and was granted a spell beyond anything that a normal mortal could cast (10th level).

 **Niavara 'Nora' Valakir**

Main Class: Cleric – lvl20 Tempest Domain

Alignment: Neutral Good – she doesn't help people in the way she sees it but helps them with whatever they want help with and doesn't take it upon herself to help someone else unless they are ok with it first

Race: Moon Elf

Height: 6' 3"

Age: 120

Eye colour: light blue

Skin colour: light fair skin

Hair colour: Blonde

Hair style: Long untangled hair dropping down to waist

Flaws: Trusting – she is free-spirited and doesn't believe in the darker parts of the main races lives, only used to dealing with the evil of demons and devils, so she freely reveals most information if people ask

Ideals: Helping Hand – she doesn't have a single quest or drive in her journey but instead helps anyone with anything they might need, lending a hand wherever she can

Personality traits: High-spirited – she has a friendly and outgoing personality and doesn't discriminate against anyone

Languages: Can speak, read and write Common, Elvish and Draconic

Proficiencies: All armours, shields, martial and simple melee weapons

STR: 17

DEX: 14

CON: 18

INT: 10

WIS: 18

CHA: 15

Boons + feats: Boon of the Stormborn, Boon of the Undettered

Before the story: She used to be part of a well-known Elf clan although after an attack by demons, she and a childhood friend being the only survivors. She tried to build up the continued reputation for the clan but didn't manage for quite a few years until she met Holg's adventurers a matter of weeks after the creation of the new Material Plane and she began adventuring with them and making a name for herself. While doing so, she became the champion of her god, the god of storms Talos, granting her powers over storms far more than a normal cleric of the tempest.


	5. A conclusion that was never forseen

**So... for some reason I'm still writing this and it's getting some decent reviews and view, although I don't know if I'll still continue this as I'm nearing the end of one of my other fanfics and I need to focus on that if I want to make it memorable so this won't get as much attention as I'd like despite how much I'd like to write this more...**

 **Please leave a review, I live off them... like a vampire**

 **Naughtbeast**

Chapter 4:

The fight that took place on the outskirts of the village was extraordinary to say the least and ever since it began, Frath knew there was no way that this little girl had any chance of taking down Holg and he knew that the other girls knew it as well. Tears were streaming down the red one's face, the yellow one was on the verge of breaking down and the one in black was looking on with a face of exasperation and fear, Frath not quite knowing why.

As soon as the match began, the girl in white was on the offensive, although when Frath saw how she fought he was obliged to laugh and scoff at her form. He had to actually sit down in order to comprehend just how little this girl knew of tactics as she was oblivious to adapting to the situation effectively. He could see she was an accomplished fencer for her age but fencing didn't work too well against an armoured opponent with a shield.

Her attempts at striking Holg were either deflected with a deft flick of his axe or was caught on the full by his metal shield which forced her to have to jump back quickly so not as to let him have a hit at her. Holg, on the other hand, was biding his time and waiting for her to tire as well as assessing her strategy. The Paladin's face was one of complete calm and barely contained fury while the girl's showed nothing but the face of someone facing what would be the last moments of their life.

It was half-way through the battle that Nora, Adrik and Morkai came up to Frath, surprising the three girls near him, querying as to what was happening. Frath could only give them a deft flick of the wrist to tell them to bugger off as he was enraptured in the battle and at laughing at the white one's constant rage at not being able to hit her target.

Nora groaned when she saw the magical line that was glowing brightly in the clearing, taking slow steps over to the grieving girl and bringing her into a hug to try and comfort her, only to get pushed away in her rage.

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM!" She screamed, Nora once again sighing and ushering the others to sit down, which they hesitantly accepted after seeing how serious she was.

"Only two types of people accepted the Nex Sacramentum… people who know they can win… or people who are too stupid to know better. No offence but I can tell which one your friend is, although I admire her effort I am afraid there is no way we can get her out safely…"

"THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING!" screamed the red one, letting more tears fall from her already scarlet eyes.

"Well, the only way we can break it is for Morkai over there to do it but I highly…"

She hadn't even finished the sentence before the girl in red disappeared in a blur of petals and was clinging onto Morkai and nearly strangling him with her arms, although the Tiefling didn't seem to care in the slightest.

"PLEASE, YOU HAVE TO SAVE HER!" she screamed into Morkai's ears.

"That would require one of my more powerful skills, although not unattainable, I am hesitant to use it because of its possible side-effects"

"What could be worse than someone dying!" shouted the blonde, looking as though she was about to rip everything around her to shreds.

"I could possibly lose my mind, kill everyone around you and possibly destroy the world…" nonchalantly spoke Morkai, still observing the battle with keen eyes.

"No-one has that much power…" the one in black murmured, earning a smile from the wizard.

"Oh please, I doubt you've seen anything near what I can do…"

"Ya really don't wanna either… nasty stuff" Adrik commented, slapping Morkai on the back before sitting next to Frath and began counting his gold… not noticing that most of it never made it back into his pouch.

"If he does this so often, then why are you friends with him!" continued the one in black, her eyebrows narrowing in anger and frustration. They turned back to the fight to see the girl in white summon a massive glyph underneath the Paladin… although nothing happened. She reared back int shock and complete disbelief, Holg seizing the opportunity and going in for a strike. His axe shone an almost blinding bright blue as he brought it down on the girl… but all she could do was try and block it.

A deafening crack of thunder pierced the normally quite forest and everyone had to turn and shield their eyes from the flash of light. When it cleared, they saw that the girl had been slammed painfully into the back of the arena and was lying on the floor, feebly trying to get up.

"Damn, never seen a human survive one of those!" Frath exclaimed as he began taking gold rings off Adrik's fingers as he was distracted. Holg too was stunned, not knowing how the girl had survived without suffering the slightest of physical injuries, was too stunned to dodge as she rose and dashed forward at blinding speeds, her rapier finding its way underneath one of his plates of armour… and spearing him in the chest.

The girl nearly screamed and turned green when she saw what she had done, although she certainly didn't get the reaction she expected. Holg looked down as though nothing had happened and grasped the hilt of the rapier, simply brushing off the girl's own in her dazed state, then pulled it out in one swift go. All that showed he had received an injury was the thick blood that covered the weapon and the slightest of grins as he pulled it from his chest.

He threw the weapon aside as if nothing had happened, putting his shield on his back and held his axe with two hands, bring it into a battle stance and charging it once more with divine energy. He brought it around in a strong cleaving swing and hit the girl full-on, sending her flying once more into the edges of the arena. With speed that seemed way too fast for someone who was wearing full plate-mail and a heavy duster cloak, he lunged forward and grabbed her, throwing her into the ground with such force that it left a dent in the earth where she landed.

"What foul sorcery is this that denies my blows purchase!" demanded Holg, slamming his axe into the centre of her back, the white shield that encased her body breaking from the massive blow. "Now that you are free of your spells, I shall see that you are entailed with a quick death for your dealings against my honor!"

"Seriously Holg! You start this over a bloody insult!" Nora scolded, swearing in Elvish under her breath. Holg stopped immediately and turned to her with a look of scorn and pain.

"The Great One… it is still alive" he said simply, letting it hand in the air for the others to compute.

Nora had only ever been told of the supposed happenings of the creation of the new world and she didn't entirely believe it to be honest, but nevertheless she knew just how powerful this old threat was.

"That can't be…" she whispered, hearing Adrik cough violently as she swore he nearly choked.

"But da god's killed im!"

"Neigh, it appears that even they underestimated the Great One and it still looms as a threat against all life"

"Wouldn't we be dead if it were so?" Morkai reasoned, shrugging the girl off him and floating closer to the circle.

"COULD EVERYONE ACTUALLY ACT AS IF SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE!" screamed the one in yellow, looking even more sadistic and enraged, stopped from lashing out only by the hand of the one in black. Holg shrugged off the conversation, picking up the girl carefully and placing her face-down on the ground, pushing her hair aside to leave the back of her neck free of obstructions. He pulled back his arm that held his axe while holding her still with the other.

"Rest in peace, may you find salvation with whatever deity you atone your sins to"

And with that, he brought his axe down…only to be stopped by a single word.

"No…"

It was barely audible above a whimper but Holg heard it never-the-less and he knew exactly who it came from. He turned to see Genevive standing at the edge of the circle, her brow furrowed in determination.

"Frath! Get her way" he ordered, the thief rising to obey only to be stopped when he saw Genevive take a tiny step towards it.

"Don't do it daddy, or I'll go in!" she said, sounding as though she knew exactly what she was doing.

"Honey, don't take another step!" Holg warned, his expression changing from grim intent to worry.

"Daddy, don't kill her or I'll go in!" she warned, staring him right in the eyes. He tried to think of any ways but he was powerless to do anything outside of the circle and even if she stumbled a mere inch, she would be bound by the rules of combat. He could get Morkai to use his telepathy but he cursed himself that even Gen could pick up the faint traces of magic used and know exactly what he was doing.

There was only two ways this would end… with both the girl and him dying… or just one of them.

"Gen, I really hope you know this is definitely not ok and I'm going to have to punish you when I get out"

"I know…" she said happily, seeming oblivious to what was happening next. The adventurers all knew exactly what was happening and Morkai began readying his spell, ensuring that the other girls did not see it by casing a simple illusion spell to mask his actions. Said girls had not the slightest of ideas what was happening between them but they got an idea when they saw what Holg did next.

He sheathed his axe and reached up to his own head, grabbing onto it with both of his colossal hands… then snapped his own neck, his limp body clattering to the floor sprawled unevenly. The four girls all screamed as they witnessed what the adventurers assumed to be their first death, the white one fainting immediately, the red and yellow one holding onto eachother while crying and the black one just stood there with a blank look on her face.

"Great… now we're going to have to erase their memories" muttered Nora, watching as the glowing circle in the forest dissipated and she calmly walked over to the now dead Holg. Frath and Morkai followed her while Adrik went off to go back to the village claiming that this was 'too boring' and wanted to start getting a gateway back to their Material Plane.

Morkai floated over to the fallen Paladin's side, not at all caring about Frath beginning to loot the corpse. He looked down at the glowing purple orb in his hands and slowly pushed out with his hands, seeing it float into Holg and dissipate on contact… then the real magic began. His neck began twisting back around until it was straight again… and his eyes began blinking again.

He sat up on and brushed himself off, grinning and slapping away Fraths hands as he tried to take the gold pieces he had in his coin-purse. The three girls that were still wide awake became even more so when they saw he was alive… that was until Morkai waved his hand and they all fell unconscious, his magic working its way and re-writing their memory before they spread too much information to the other inhabitants of this world.

Holg was now fully awake after getting revived and had worked out all the soreness and pain of dying as much as he could, smiling at Genevive as she smirked widely at him. He shook his head and stood up fully, holding out his hand to Frath who hesitantly put back the items he took while the Paladin was unconscious. Holg put them all back where they belonged, shrugging his shoulders and setting his duster cloak back into place so that it covered his armour, taking his helmet from Morkai and thanking him for bringing it, fixing it back upon his head and pulling his hood down low so he was back to being covered completely.

His thoughts instantly switched back to the most pressing matter, being the world they were stuck in, so his mind immediately began formulating plans.

"Morkai, I need a gateway to Mount Celestia immediately so that I can gain counsel with the gods and discuss this… I need you four to hold down this village as our forward staging area and escape to our plane as soon as the Great One decides to make themselves known… until then, I wish you luck and make sure these four make it back to their residences unharmed" Holg explained, nodding to the four on girls before sending a mental note to Morkai.

The Tiefling nodded and held out his hands, summoning a rift in the very fabric of reality, through which Holg walked through without the slightest of hesitation. The others cleaned up from his battle and carried the girls back to their borrowed house, seeing that Adrik had already began laying lay-rocks around in a spare room and had begun the ritual to start an efficient gateway, so they rested up and let the girls rest, none of them waking from their slumber yet.

It was quite some time before they heard anything from Holg and his council with the gods, although when it came it was dusk and it came in the form of three simple words…

"It is war…"


	6. An offer to a thief

**Well here we are again peeps... I've got another chapter to satisfy all your RWBY and Dungeoning needs...**

 **Now, as some of you might have noticed I'm going to have a hard time juggling two Nora's... and before you ask, my friend did model his character off the hyperactive pancake-eating nut...**

 **I haven't been able to upload in a while mainly because my laptop was kinda taken back for my new school year and I haven't even been able to write until two days ago...**

 **Please review!**

 **Naughtbeast**

Chapter 5:

It had been quite some time since they had last heard a response from Holg and the sun had just risen two days after the message, when, by some miracle, the four girls woke up. The adventurers didn't notice for some time, until Frath pointed out the fact that the red one's eyes were wide open that the others noticed. The four of them instantly cried out in terror and tried to run, only to find a dwarf blocking the door.

"You ain't gettin out dis way!"

The one in yellow instantly tried to punch her way out… only to find that the barbarian didn't really seem to care when he was punched the face. One bind spell later, courtesy of Morkai, they were sitting frozen in the living room of the adventurers temporary housing. It took quite some time before Nora managed to calm them down enough so that they wouldn't try and run the second they were let free. Even if they did, they didn't have their weapons so they couldn't do much.

"Why are we here!" the one in yellow shouted, producing a look of distain from Frath as he observed the four. He had, of course, already made a mental profile of each of them from what he had seen, weapons used and their personalities. Morkai was about to speak, until Frath silenced him with a single finger, the master thief preferring to make the alibi stories so that the others didn't mess it up somehow.

"We were going through the forest when we stumbled across you four knocked out on the ground, surrounded by Grimm, we took you back here and waited until you recovered from your injuries" blatantly lied Frath, sounding as convincing as if he was telling the truth, although he forgot to account for one thing.

"WHAT! The last thing I remember is fighting some guy in armour!" Weiss shouted, Frath swearing internally on the inside.

"That was Nora in her armour, she was the first to the scene and your memories can be adversely affected after receiving the injuries that you had" the thief noted, gesturing to the elf and making sure to cover his own tracks.

"I distinctly remember fighting some guy with… a green face? He yelled stuff and me… and… KILLED HIMSELF!" she screamed, the memories suddenly coming back and she began hyperventilating. The one in red went over and tried to console her while the one in yellow just seemed to get even more angry.

"WHAT IS THE TRUTH!" she screamed, her eyes turning red and a small aura of gold surrounded her.

"Goddamn monks!" Adrik mumbled under his breath. Frath just eyed him angrily before turning back.

"It seems your friend has just suffered what we call memory alteration, where the trauma didn't exactly go down well with her and her mind has replaced her memories with those which would give reason to such a condition" Frath spoke, recalling how he had heard Holg explain how war veterans would often exaggerate their stories, often without knowing that what they remembered didn't happen. "There is really nothing here that can hurt you!"

And that is when the entire meeting went to the abyss. Frath only vaguely heard the thundering footsteps of people outside and jumped backwards just in time as the entire wall to the front of the house was smashed in… by a hammer-wielding teenage girl in pink.

"JNPR IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY!" she shouted, standing triumphantly on the crumbled pile of rubble, three others walking in behind her.

"I think we could have just knocked…" a girl wearing an outfit resembling the elite units of the Old Keshian empire back in the adventurers Material plane. She held a strangely designed shield and an ornate short sword.

"I think that would have been better" a blonde boy answered, holding a simple sword and shield. He didn't at all seem in-place with the other warriors and certainly didn't hold himself like he was going into battle.

"Nora, next time remember to ask before you go smashing things with Maghild" another boy spoke, his outfit accented in green and a single lock of pink hair contrasting its normal black. The four new entrants immediately saw the four girls tied in the living room and scowls found their way onto their faces, the lead girl in pink immediately deciding to let her anger out on the nearest person… which just so happened to be Nora.

The girl swung her hammer and it slammed into the elf, sending her flying into the nearest wall and producing a large cracking sound, as well as making the woman slump to the ground as she cried out in pain… then all hell broke loose. First off, Frath instantly had two massive knives in his hands, being the only one of the adventurers to have their weapons on hand, and had launched a savage attack against the offending girl, not caring about his own safety and slashing at insane speeds, all the while shouting "YOU WHORE!".

Adrik sprinted over and took up his hammer, not at all bothered with putting on what little armour he had… then charged straight at the girl with the shield. She barely had time to raise it in defence, although his hammer still smashed against it and made her fly out onto the street, although Adrik didn't let up and roared a war-cry, activating his rage and running out of the house and after her.

The boy in green tried to assist her pink-clad friend, although he didn't get the chance as Morkai calmly threw a small magic-missile barrage at him, which the boy barely managed to dodge. The wizard floated over the rubble and bowed respectively to the boy before summoning a fireball… although that didn't really help when the boy whipped up two strange devices and fire spewed forth, the wizard pulling up a ward, but not before a few of the strange projectiles pierced his robes and he felt his dark black blood seep from underneath… and then he smiled. It had been a while since he had been hurt.

Zwelious, all the while, had jumped over to help Nora. Since Nora was the team's main healer, with Holg being their back-up, and because she was down, Zwelious was the next-best qualified, being able to at least heal a few wounds with his nature spells… although, now no-one was watching RWBY. They found themselves suddenly free from the spell that bound them and immediately went in search of them, finding them sitting on the table in one of the back rooms, the only problem was that there was a little girl blocking the path.

The lead girl in yellow just ignored her and tried to push past… only to jump back in surprise when she felt a knife graze against her aura. She saw that the girl had a determined look on her face, an ornate knife in her right hand while a large book rested on her left, its pages opened in an indecipherable language.

"Stay back!" she warned, her voice a bit shaky, but overall, she sounded confident. Yang growled and dashed forward, grabbing the knife by the blade and let it flare her aura, throwing it to the other side of the room and walking past the girl and grabbing her weapons. The other three were a bit more hesitant… mainly due to the fact that the little girl now had a sizeable fireball in her palm… and looked ready to kill. The yellow girl, being completely oblivious to this fact, turned around and was surprised to be met with a fireball to the face.

She was dazed for a second but recovered in time to grab her team-mates weapons and jump back to the safety of the doorway, dodging another fireball that was sent her way. She gave her weapons back to her team-mates before slamming the door shut behind her and hearing the loud bangs of the girl on the other side.

"What's her problem?" she asked to no-one, cocking back her weapons and sprinting out to the main battle, the other three following. On the way, she met the disgruntled blonde boy who was trying to get Frath off of the girl in pink, although to no avail.

"Jaune, go take care of the little girl in the back, we'll get this guy"

Jaune hesitantly nodded and let go of the man, walking back to where the girl had pointed, mumbling under his breath.

"Why do I always get stuck on baby-sitting duty…"

Although, his thoughts were quickly struck from his mind when he saw the closest door fly open with a loud 'BANG' and a petite little girl walk out. He readied his sword and shield and was about to say he didn't want to hurt her… only to stop when she put her palms together and pulled them apart slightly to reveal a flaming ball of fire… and then he almost wet himself.

Back in the main fight, Frath was savagely attacking the pink girl with no remorse, not at all noticing that his knives were not drawing blood. He was pulled from his trance when he felt a sharp pain in his back and jumped off, seeing the girl in black holding a strange katana in her grips with small flecks of crimson blood over the blade. He growled in anger and pulled the hood of his cloak down, coating him in a veil of invisibility, although that didn't seem to faze the girl as she flicked forward her katana on a long ribbon, essentially turning it into a Kusarigama, Frath dodging barely.

He dashed forward, sliding to avoid the weapon as it came back around way faster than it should have, then began slashing at the girl with unrivalled speed. She retreated and tried to block the unseen attacks but couldn't quite predict exactly where they would land and with a quick adjustment from Frath, he made it past her petty attempt at a block and struck her. It was then that he noticed that his strikes weren't drawing blood or even cutting the clothes she was wearing.

" _Morkai, they have some magic which blocks weapons? Any suggestions?"_ Frath mind-spoke to Morkai while he attacked, the wizard replying almost instantly.

" _Give me a moment my friend, I must analyse this_ "

Analysing, in Morkai's terms, meant seeing how much punishment this shield could take. He quickly casted _Hunger of Hadar,_ a massive sphere of pure blackness being summoned onto the street behind them… and then he used telekinesis to push the boy into the spell. It was a few seconds before the boy stumbled out looking much worse than he went in, although he only seemed to have physical damage, rather than the mental that Morkai would come to expect from those exposed to horrors of the void.

" _They appear to definitely be stronger than any normal human, full force authorised_ " Morkai telepathed to every adventurer, getting mixed responses from each of them. Adrik cheered in joy and used his _Bag of Holding_ to pull out a Greataxe, holding his massive Warhammer in one hand, with his massive axe in the other, swinging them with deadly efficiency, the red-head struggling to dodge or block the strikes.

Frath brought out a magical stone and scraped it across his daggers, coating them in a dark, black miasma and made them hum with power. He put the stone away and then began slashing again, smiling as he felt revived with each hit, the leech magic working a charm against his opponent as well.

Zwelious had managed to bring Nora back to consciousness and was helping her into her platemail, smiling as he saw the blonde kid fly through the hallway and smash into a wall, Genevive walking slowly and purposely after him with a massive fireball in her palm. The ranger snapped back to the task at hand, just finishing putting Nora's grieves on as she was finishing casting a self-healing spell to recover from the massive hit. It was about another minute before she was fully armoured and in fighting health. She took out her Warhammer and charged it with divine energy, pulling her hair into her helmet and charging back out, Zwelious in tow with arrow drawn.

Frath, an exception to the other adventurers, was having a rather easy fight, considering the fact that his opponent couldn't even fight back and when she tried to, Frath either side-stepped or parried instantly. Given, he was impressed at her fighting, the girl trying to trap him in decoys she left behind while he attacked, although… he had fought demi-gods and demons… compared to them, this was a cakewalk.

Although, thanks to the cockiness equated with such an easy fight, he failed to notice a massive scythe heading his way… until it found its way into his ribcage. He stopped his blade an inch from his target, looking down at the blade that was now firmly lodged into his ribs… although the only response he had was to sigh heavily. He wasn't exactly fazed by the attack thanks to the light Mithril chainmail he wore underneath his leather padding, a gift he received for helping a king.

He jumped to the side quickly, seeing the look of shock on the red reapers features as she saw the blood on her weapon, barely thinking about it for a second before sheathing one of his blades and taking an odd, pale stone from his pockets. He growled and sprinted forward, seeing that the girl with the katana finally had the brilliant idea of looking where his feet were to guess where he was, yelling out to someone to the left of him, Frath turning to see the yellow one streaking towards him with an outline of glowing gold fire, ready to punch him with a blazing fist… although it never landed.

He gently squeezed the stone and disappeared from reality, the girl phasing through where he was before, not quite understanding why her blow didn't connect, then Frath came back into reality and threw a bola at the girl that tried to hit him, catching her legs and bringing her smashing to the ground. He spun around in a second and took more slashes at the black girl, smiling as he saw a slight shimmer when he hit her, his expertise giving him a good interpretation that her magic was down, although he was forced to dodge away to avoid another slash from the scythe… one which unfortunately cut the back of his invisibility cloak… making him visible for all to see.

 _Well this is going to be interesting…_

Back with Morkai, he was having less and less fun each time his target tried to send another barrage of the infernal metal bolts at insane speeds, forcing the wizard to pool more of his precious mana into the summoning of a protective spell to ensure he wasn't hit… although that didn't mean he wasn't inflicting as much damage back. Every time he sensed that the boy was out of whatever ammunition served his weapons, he would pull down his shield and focus all his energy into a high-powered _Magic Missile_ , hitting the boy with most, if not all, of the projectiles and inflicting some serious damage.

Once in a while, he would feel the presence of the one that Holg challenged, the girl trying to get in under his defences, although all her attempts were futile as he simple activated his _Dancing Sword_ which parried and blocked each attack. Even though he had to renew the enchantment every couple of hits it blocked, it was surprisingly effective against the fencer and she couldn't even get close… although he did notice something strange when she realised this for herself.

As Morkai was blocking another barrage, he saw a massive glyph dilating beneath his feet… and quickly nullified it with a _Counterspell_ , much to the chagrin of the caster, although Morkai wasn't exactly focusing when his ward finally failed against the barrage of bullets… and he was left open to attack. The wizard swore and cast _Mage Armour_ before turning to face his opponent and summoning _Mordenkainen's Sword_ to aid him, eyeing the boy with a glint of pleasure in his eyes… this was certainly going to be interesting.

Adrik… well he was currently having the time of his life hacking and slashing at the defences of the red girl with vigour, smiling a sadistic smile, not even caring that his blows never actually hit their target. The girl finally decided to go on the offensive and slashed out, Adrik taking it without even flinching, causing a massive gash to appear across his chest. The girl was taken back and slipped up her defence for a second and Adrik quickly punished her by hitting her in the side with a massive swing from his Greataxe, causing her to go flying across the street and smash into the porch of another building.

Just as everything was about to go to hell, all the fighting instantly stopped… thanks to a massive roar that came forth from Nora's throat… the elf, not the human. Everyone stopped immediately and turned to see the elf standing on the ruins of the door, her _Living lightning_ sparking to the nearest points and a shroud of electricity coated her massive warhammer. She growled loudly and said three simple words.

"Where's… the… girl!" she demanded, seeing Frath shove a finger over in the direction of said hammer-wielding girl in pink, Nora (elf one) floating off the ground and pointing a single finger at her. "YOU COULD HAVE GOD DAMN KNOCKED!" she screamed… before calling the might of Talos down upon her. A massive bolt of pure lightning streaked from the sky, its path set straight for the girl and nothing else… then it struck.

Nothing happened for a few seconds afterwards as the lightning sparked around the girl, seeming to stand stock-still all the while, until it finally seemed something happened. She screamed as loud as it seemed humanly possible, her throat instantly going hoarse in pain, then she collapsed to her knees and a smashing could be heard as a barrier around her was shattered instantly.

The boy in green cried out "NORA!" in shock, as everyone else was too shaken to even talk… although the situation turned even worse for the locals as Frath teleported beside her and picked up the girl, struggling to lift her and then sprinting off through town as fast as he could. The locals quickly recovered and sprinted off after him, Yang having broken through the bola and Jaune… well he just gave up fighting a little girl to 'run and live' as he would have put it.

The adventurers on the other hand, knew exactly what Frath was doing, something that he didn't need them screwing up. Nora put away her hammer and huffed… she knew that she didn't kill the girl as she had made the lightning to stun, although she wasn't exactly sure why she had such a weird reaction. Adrik broke her thoughts as he calmed down from his rage, putting away his hammer and axe, straightened out his beard… then walked back into the house as if nothing had happened.

Morkai floated over to her, the elf quickly noticing the streaks of black blood dripping from his cloak, something she quickly righted with a quick healing spell. She took a deep breath and sagged her shoulders… she just hoped Frath would be able to make it back alright.

 **[Several minutes later]**

Frath was desperately weaving in and out of the trees as he pushed the limits of even the fastest speeds for him. Despite the fact that he had multiple magical items and a Boon of Speed that boosted his already insane agility for being a rogue, the teenagers were literally only a couple of hundred of metres behind him… except for one which seemed to have teleport ready at ALL times.

He constantly had to use his _Soul Stone_ to phase to the Ethereal plane for a split second every time he sensed she tried to use her speed to tackle him. It also didn't help much that he had to avoid their god-forsaken weapons that were basically miniature cannons that he had trouble dodging with his god-like reflexes.

He had been running with the girl over his back the entire time for one simple fact… he didn't exactly want to be responsible for the murder of eight teenagers. She would happily let Holg or Adrik do that, so long as he wasn't near him, he knew exactly how heaven and hell worked… so long as he wasn't pinned for child murder, he was set for a good life in Elysium thanks to the copious amounts of stuff he had stolen from greater evils.

This way, he could lead them a fair distance away from the town and hopefully make it back and leave with the others so that they wouldn't have to put them down. He laughed internally as he realised just about everyone that the group bothered to meet always ended up dying one way or another… be it by their hand… or from the hundreds of demons and devils that were hunting them.

Frath made it to a cliff-side, stopping at the edge and looking down to some ruins that were set across a large chasm to a continuation of the forest. He turned to face the others, taking out his knife and putting it to the pink girl's throat, stopping the one in red a few feet away from him and giving the other six time to catch up.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" shouted the blonde boy as he pointed his sword at Frath, the thief scoffing.

"Oh please, that's not much of threat when you got your ass kicked by my niece" he retorted, smiling when he saw how angry he got.

"Then let me explain it!" shouted the blonde girl, someone Frath considered to be a much bigger threat than just about everyone here for one reason, he didn't know exactly what she could do "If you don't let her go, then I'll pummel your brains into next year!" she threatened, smashing her fists together and producing a small shockwave. Frath shook his head in disappointment and made small 'tsk'ing sounds.

"This is exactly how it's going to go down… I am going to drop this girl three seconds after finishing this explanation and rely on you to not make an attempt on my life so I don't have to end your little friend here… then you're never going to try and find me or my associates again or I'll personally make sure you'll never sleep well again for the rest of your days under threat of a silent dagger to your throat" Frath explained, letting it seep in before carefully stepping back and laying the girl on the ground, stepping back so his heels were hanging off the back of the cliff.

" _Morkai, could I get a teleport here?_ " Frath mentally sent, feeling magical energy surround him.

"Excuse me if I could interrupt the conversation" came a calm and methodical voice from the left of Frath, the thief pulling out a throwing dagger and readying it in case he needed it, mentally telling Morkai to pull the plug on the teleport. He instantly began analysing the new addition, taking in every detail. The voice was of a man in his mid-forties, wearing a rather plain set of clothes compared to what he had seen of this plane so far, although a white mug was held in his grip as well as a cane.

Frath knew from experience to never trust those that appeared normal, mostly because a thief's greatest weapon was normality, although he didn't at all seem threatening in any way.

"I'm listening" Frath spoke, adjusting his aim with his throwing knife so he would get a better result than his current aim.

"I do believe we are at an impasse here" started the man, taking a drawn-out sip of his mug before continuing "I would very much like that girl to stay alive and I would also like to talk to you, something which doesn't seem very likely on the terms you expressed"

"I don't see any benefits from staying…"

"How about an explanation?" offered the man, smiling as he finished and saw Frath perk up.

"Now if I understand you correctly, then if I go with you, then you'll explain all of this… and I'm to assume you know at least who we are"

"I think I have a much better hold on the situation than most of your friends on the topic of your current predicament, including the reason to why Miss Schnee has a terrible memory"

Frath smiled a bit and sheathed both his knives, fluttering his cape and walking over to the man, offering a hand.

"Nice to make your acquaintance, I am Aesir Kulanov…" Frath spoke, receiving a firm hand shake after the man stabbed his cane into the ground.

"Pleasure to meet you, you can call me Ozpin and I am the headmaster of Beacon Academy… I would be lying if I said I wasn't surprised at how quickly you would accept my offer"

Frath showed a toothy smile and explained his behaviour.

"Well, I know that the seven people behind me know you given their reactions, so you would be familiar with the girl passed out, still making the threat valid so I expect any attempts at my life would be strongly advised against given the small vial of poison I placed on the girl that I can break the second you try and kill me" the thief replied happily, surprised slightly to see the man smile rather than frown.

"So… Mr Kulanov… how would you like to attend my academy"


End file.
